A Radiance to Dispel the Dark of Night
by CrazyNinjaPenguin
Summary: Isane Kotetsu is a woman of insecurities, all of which seem to surface in her recurring nightmares. She tries to remain strong through it all, but perhaps sometimes it's better to depend on someone else rather than face it alone. Unohana X Isane. Yuri.
1. Betrayal and Affection

A/N: Alright, another story started. Like everything else I've written, this one's yuri; it will deal with romantic love (and eventual sexual content; note the rating) between two female characters. In this case, those two female characters are Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu. I hope you enjoy. Oh and there's a bit of intense violence in this chapter, just a little heads up.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and I do not believe in happy rainbows.

A calm air filled the First Division's meeting hall as the 13 shinigami captains and the 13 shinigami lieutenants all stood rigidly in their places. It was a reminder of the peace and tranquility Soul Society had seen in recent years, the idyllic times when the skills of a healer were something rarely needed. Isane Kotetsu, one such healer, was content with this; she believed the less her skills were needed, the better.

Isane was comfortable in this place. She was comfortable around these people. They were her friends and mentors; respectable men and women she looked up to and took guidance from. She was a young lieutenant among many young lieutenants, but she never felt overwhelmed by her job; the Gotei 13 looked after one another.

Isane did have certain insecurities though, even if they would prove frivolous in most eyes. She wasn't the type who liked to stand out, yet her height assured that she would. She knew most probably wouldn't understand, but it certainly bothered her that in that room she stood as tall as or taller than most of the grown men, whether they were Sosuke Aizen, Kaien Shiba or Renji Abarai.

In spite of her petty worries, Isane was able to maintain focus. This wasn't going to be a very long or important meeting. They never were. The Gotei 13, Seireitei, Soul Society, they all operated seamlessly under the wise guidance of the Central 46. Hollows were dispatched effortlessly. New shinigami were trained each day. Nothing seemed poised to change this.

"Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13, I'm pleased to see that you could all make it to our annual meeting discussing the future of Seireitei," Head-captain Yamamoto started in a bold voice, looking out at the 24 figures before him. "Let's begin by hearing each of your requests or concerns, starting with you, Captain Soi Fon." He nodded to the indicated woman.

"The second Division has no concerns at this time," the Captain of the Second Division replied in a bored, bitter voice, the permanent scowl on her face not lifting. Yamamoto's eyes found the other line.

"Third division hasn't any worries either," Captain Ichimaru said in his usual harmless but creepy manner, with his usual creepy smile. Yamamoto moved to the woman standing in front of Isane, the woman she admired more than any other.

"Fourth Division faces no issues requiring your attention, General Yamamoto," Isane's captain said in a soft, serene voice. The Head-captain moved on.

"Fifth Division has nothing of which to report at this time as well," Captain Aizen said, his well-mannered subtlety perfectly in tact.

"Sixth Division is the same," Captain Kuchiki readily assured in his apathetic voice.

"Seventh Division requires nothing," Captain Komamura stated, an even expression on his canine face. Yamamoto nodded and moved down the line.

"The Eighth division would like to place a request for more cute, young female recruits," Captain Kyoraku said in a deadpan fashion, nodding along the way. He promptly got hit in the head with a heavy book.

"No it wouldn't!" his lieutenant said loudly, her Captain clenching his hat and nodding in accordance; most laughed as their eyes traveled to the next captain.

"The Ninth Division is in need of nothing at the moment," Captain Tosen said dryly. Eyes moved downward as they fell on the Tenth Captain.

"The Tenth Division is operating without issue," Captain Hitsugaya asserted in a strict tone of voice. Everyone turned to the next.

"Give us more hollows to fight!" Captain Zaraki demanded fiercely. Most people shook their heads.

"Captain Zaraki, we can't just increase the number of hollows there are," Captain Aizen said in a calm voice, trying to reason with the man.

"Speak for yourself, I'm sure I could," Captain Kurotsuchi inserted in a darkly smug voice.

"Enough! Lets keep to rational, reasonable concerns!" Yamamoto boomed, turning back to the eye-patched man.

"Whatever; it's just boring 'round here these days. Feels like ages since I had a real fight," Zaraki spat, a frown worn on his face. Attention moved to the next man.

"Division Twelve requests more funding for experimental research projects," Captain Kurotsuchi said firmly. Some looked displeased but no one spoke out; everyone realized the importance of the Twelfth Division.

"Very well. I'll have it considered," Yamamoto said with a nod. His eyes turned to the last Captain.

"We of Division 13 have no concern worthy of mentioning at the moment," Captain Ukitake gave a hard cough after he spoke.

"Very well. If that is all, our meeting can be adjourned until next year," Yamamoto said, his position becoming more relaxed.

"Wait, there is one thing," a voice stopped everyone before they could leave. They turned to find it was Sosuke Aizen.

"Yes, Captain Aizen? You thought of something to request?" Yamamoto pressed, looking slightly surprised.

The well-mannered bespectacled man took a step forward. The young girl behind him looked confused and surprised but stepped forward along side him. The man spoke with a deep smirk carved into his face, "You will all see the truth behind this naive illusion."

These words seemed to unsettle everyone. Most were confused. Some looked scared. Aizen just stared ahead, an insane look on his face.

"Excuse me?! What was that Aizen?!" Soi Fon challenged, suspiciously, snarling.

"Explain yourself, Captain Aizen!" the Head-Captain demanded sternly.

"As you wish." Aizen smirked. To everyone's shock and disbelief he unsheathed his zanpakuto in a single motion. "Shatter, Kyouka Suigetsu..." he said.

"Aizen! Do you mean to draw your sword to the Gotei 13!" Komamura shouted, concentrating only on the man in front of him, his hand going to his own sword.

"W-what is… what's this…?" Hitsugaya said, looking around in confusion. Isane began looking around as well.

The conformable room she knew had been replaced. They were now standing in a barren gray desert, devoid of warmth and light. Thousands of hollows encircled them all as they stood, howling into the windless sky.

"Captain Aizen, what did you do?" Momo Hinamori started, looking up at the man next to her questioningly. Aizen looked at her for a moment, smiled softly then ran her through on his sword, slicing just barely upward to make sure it rent her heart. When he removed the blade, the girl fell lifelessly to the floor.

"AIZEN!!!" Hitsugaya screamed, the fury of hell in his eyes as he charged with Hyorinmaru drawn. Aizen gave a soft laugh before raising his blade once more. He flash-stepped swiftly behind the boy and let his blade find its way through his skull.

"Aizen, what is this madness?!" Yamamoto bellowed as he prepared Ryujin Jakka. "Captains, show no mercy!"

"As you command, General Yamamoto," Komamura said dutifully, his sword and his fury both prepared.

"Yes. This must be stopped," Kuchiki said disdainfully, also ready to fight.

As these two were about to attack, their paths were suddenly blocked. Kaname Tosen and Gin Ichimaru and stepped in to protect Aizen. In an instant, Komamura had fallen to the former and Kuchiki to the latter blood flying freely from the critical cuts inflicted.

"Captain, why?!" both Lieutenant Hisagi and Lieutenant Kira seemed to call out in unison as they charged forth, only to meet death on their respective Captain's sword.

"Gin, this is crazy! Please you can't!" Lieutenant Matsumoto ran forward pleading. Shinso quickly punctured her stomach, dyeing the desert below the woman red as she fell imply atop it

"Isane, save whoever you can!" Isane's captain shouted. It was hard to move at first from fear, but eventually she forced herself to go to work. She went from body to body, desperately trying to help. As it was, everyone she visited was already dead. She was powerless.

It was about this time that the thousands of hollows encircling them all seemed to converge at once upon the three defiant Captains at the center of this sea of death. Soon they were gone and all that was standing there was a massive, disgusting shapeless three headed beast. Everyone attacked at once, but each slash proved useless. Whenever a piece of the beast's flesh was hacked or cleaved away it quickly returned the same as it was before.

Isane watched as Lieutenant Shiba was engulfed and devoured whole by the monster first. It moved quickly after that, it's vicious claws slicing Zaraki and his young Lieutenant to pieces before grabbing Captain Soi Fon and ripping her from her limbs. A massive beam shot from its mouth to disintegrate both Captain and Lieutenant Kurotsuchi to a fine ash before it swept down and bit Lieutenant Abarai's head from his body.

A claw was thrust through Lieutenant Ise's chest as a short blast flew from one of its mouths, hitting Lieutenant Omaeda and causing him to explode. Lieutenants Iba and Sasakibe were both crushed effortlessly between the beast's fists as it reared forward and grabbed Captain Yamamoto in its jaws.

The Head-Captain fought against the hold as Captains Kyoraku and Ukitake rushed to his rescue, but the monster was too much for any of them. It let out a sharp scream and then a bright powerful light that somehow reduced all three to dust. The monster then turned to the last Captain standing. She rose her sword, fear nowhere in her eyes as she faced the massive beast.

The creature grabbed the Captain immediately. Squeezed the life from her and tossed her aside callously. Isane ran forward, heart racing, frightened beyond anything. She knelt at her Captain's side, and watched tearfully as the last breaths of life escaped her, she unable to do anything to stop it. Isane then turned around. The vicious monster was staring her in the face, it's bloodstained teeth inches from her face.

It lunged forward. Isane closed her eyes as she prepared for the end.

Isane opened her eyes to find herself sitting up in a pool of sweat atop her bed in the Fourth Division sleeping quarters. She panted for a little while as she tried desperately to calm herself. She couldn't; the imagery wouldn't leave her mind. She shivered and cried as she stood up, unsure of what was real anymore. She left her room for a night walk, hoping a cool breeze might calm her.

Isane suffered from chronic nightmares. This wasn't something new to her. They were rarely so horrible as this most recent one was. She was shaken beyond belief; it seemed so real. The blood, the screams, horrifying best itself, it was as if all of it had really been there. Her whole body continued to shake as she walked, unable to get a grip on herself.

"You're up late again, Isane? You had another one of your dreams..." a gentle voice said from behind the silver haired girl. She turned around excitedly, her heart placated by the sound of the all to familiar voice.

She knew it wasn't real. She knew it was just a dream. Even such, seeing Retsu Unohana, her beloved Captain and mentor standing before her, alive and well, caused an intense joy to surge from within the girl's heart. She wanted to rush forward and embrace the woman, who's cold death in her dream still loomed in her mind's eyes, but she figured such an action would be seen as childish.

"Poor child, you saw something really horrible this time," Captain Unohana whispered compassionately as she stepped forward, somehow able to decipher everything just from the girl's appearance. She put a hand at Isane's cheek, feeling at the warm spot under here eye that tears had occupied recently. "Let's sit awhile and discuss it."

"A-alright… C-Captain," Isane choked out, her eyes becoming watery once more, this time from joy. Her Captain led her to a spot just outside the Fourth Division building. They sat down on some steps and stared up at the night sky.

"So, do you wish to talk about it, Lieutenant? If it was too painful and you'd rather just sit quietly with me a while, I understand," Captain Unohana said in her soothing voice.

"It was Aizen… he betrayed us... and killed everyone…and I couldn't do anything to stop it..." Isane said, her voice weak and thin, she still shivering.

"I see," Unohana said, closing her eyes. "Sosuke Aizen is a powerful man, Isane, your fear of him is certainly understandable. But I am confident that we will not fall before him and his companions. The horror you've seen will surely be avoided," Unohana assured warmly, placing an arm around the girl and ushering her down to lie upon her lap, looking up into the sky. Isane knew it was a childish to be held in such a fashion, but she needed the comfort. She couldn't force herself to escape it.

"I know…. That doesn't change the horrible things I saw. One by one they all died… there was so much blood… and I couldn't do anything but watch. I couldn't even save you… and then I was going to be next…" Isane began to shake in horror as she recalled the images. The older woman cradled her more tightly.

"I'm still here, Isane. You're still here. It was all just a dream… a horrible, horrible dream..." Unohana's soft voice was pleasing to the girl's ears.

"I know. It's just I still see it all, clearly in my mind…" Isane said meekly, looking up at the other.

"A lot of the time, even the most vivid dreams lose their place in our memories after we get some more sleep," the beautiful Captain advised. Isane shook her head.

"Captain, you know I can't. If I can't fall asleep after the lame nightmares involving those horrible, disgusting fishcakes, what's my chance of falling asleep after seeing something like this?" Isane challenged, a serious expression on her face.

"Isane, have you never once been able to find the peace to return to sleep after being awoken by these dreams?"Unohana asked in a serene voice.

Isane found the answered immediately. She paused a long while before saying it though. It just seemed embarrassing. Inevitably she decided such things would not be embarrassing to her supremely understanding Captain. "Well when I was kid I did. After I woke up, I'd run crying to my mother. She'd comfort me and then allow me to sleep next to her in her bed, and then I'd be able to sleep peacefully."

"I see." Captain Unohana smiled. She inquired, "So why is it you stopped sleeping with your mother like that?"

"Well... Kiyone started teasing me about it a lot, and I just decided it was a childish thing to depend on her so much. Even if it meant I wouldn't be able to sleep, I forced myself to stop going to her," Isane explained, a little ashamed of herself.

"I don't find it childish wanting not to be alone after experiencing something horrible by yourself," the soft-spoken Captain shook her head just slightly.

"Captain Unohana…" Isane started; not sure what to make of the statement, she went quiet.

"This dream looks to have been a horrible shock to you, Isane. It would be my greatest pleasure to fill the role of your mother if it could help you reach a healthy sleep," Unohana suggested with her kindest smile. These words left Isane taken aback.

"Captain, you can't be serious?! I'm an adult woman, such a thing would be incredibly awkward," Isane shook her head vehemently, her face red with blush.

"It is a healer's job to help those who are suffering. I see you suffering, Isane and I wish to help," the woman replied calmly. "If it would ease your mind, I could make sure no one else found out about this."

Isane looked up at her beautiful Captain's gentle face. This woman wanted to help her. She wanted the help. She didn't like being alone. It was painful. She wanted to forget the horrible things she had seen. She knew it was weak; she could hear Kiyone laughing at how ridiculous it was, but her head was already resting cradled, in this woman's lap, and just that was already so comforting. She couldn't force herself to turn her Captain down.

"Ummm…. alright then… if you'll have me… I won't refuse…" Isane shyly said, lifting herself upwards.

"Very well, follow me, Lieutenant," the gentle Captain said once they were both standing. She took the other back inside.

"So, Captain, why were you awake just now anyway?" Isane asked as the two walked toward the Captain's quarters.

"A shinigami returned from a mission to the human world badly wounded earlier tonight. I had just finished with him when I saw you," the older woman explained.

"You're really amazing Captain. While I'm having these childish dreams you're still saving people, it's really…" Isane started, even further ashamed of herself.

"I don't find this affliction of yours something to be made light of, Isane, and I'm sure neither do you," Unohana said in a soft but strict fashion.

"S-sorry," Isane replied meekly. She still stared at the woman walking next to her reverently.

Finally they reached Unohana's room. Isane had never been inside it before. She was a little anxious entering, but was surprised to find it very comparable in size to her own, only slightly more sparse. The first thing she noticed however is that her Captain's bed wasn't any larger than hers either.

"Captain, I'm not sure there's room for us both to sleep comfortably in here," Isane started, wondering if maybe she should back out now. The more she thought it over, the stranger it seemed. Two grown, unrelated women, sleeping in the same bed together, it just wasn't normal.

"There's more than enough room, Lieutenant," Unohana said with the sweet smile of hers that left most shinigami frightened through intimidation. "Please, make yourself comfortable."

"A-alright," Isane replied readily, a bit nervous. She sat down on the bed.

"Good. Now let me get more comfortable myself," the woman said causally as she took a few steps more into the room.

Her next moves shocked her subordinate. Captain Unohana promptly removed her haori and folded it over, placing it a top a small desk. She did the same with the outer layer of her shihakusho, so as she was dressed only in the thin, white under layer.

Isane shouldn't have found this shocking. It was a warm night. She was dressed similarly. Just because Captain Unohana was Captain Unohana, didn't mean she didn't desire to dress comfortably when she went to sleep. It was perfectly normal. Isane told herself all this, but seeing the beautiful woman she admired and respected in nothing but a light robe didn't seem normal at all.

Just as Isane was getting over one shock she received another. Unohana turned back around so as she was facing Isane at an angle. Her hand went to the end of her braid. She undid it and flipped all her long, lustrous black hair back, in the process becoming some sort of radiant goddess in the younger woman's eyes. She tied the mass of hair back at two places before taking a few steps toward the bed. She sat down next to Isane, who blushed and tried her hardest not to stare.

"Everything okay, Isane? Your face has gone flush..." Unohana spoke gently as she put hand to the girl's cheek, only making Isane feel even stranger.

"I-I'm fine. It's nothing," Isane insisted nervously, still averting her eyes.

"Well, if that's what you say…" Unohana sighed and then smirked a little. She then doused the room's light, moved to her side of the bed and lied back. "Good night, Isane."

"Good night, Captain," Isane replied softly as she too got in bed.

The horrible dream Isane had just experienced was the furthest thought from her mind at that moment. Even so sleep did not come right away. Strange, uncomfortable thoughts plagued her. Her heart was beating strangely and she was filled with a great nervousness. After about an hour of restlessness, she was able to still her nerve and suppress the strange feelings overwhelming her. Shortly thereafter, sleep hit.

---

Isane awoke the next morning, fully rested, her sleep being uninhibited by dreams of any sort. As her eyes opened they caught a beautiful sight, Retsu Unohana softly brushing her hair.

"Good morning, Isane. I trust you slept well," the woman said, not turning to face the girl or even opening her eyes, but instead concentrating on her hair which she seemed to have been working on for some time, returning it to its familiar frontal braid.

"Yeah… I did…" Isane said, the previous night's events coming back to her.

"Is something the matter?" the older woman spoke, catching the hesitations in her subordinate's speech.

"Some dream scaring me so bad I have to I go and crawl into bed with you… It just seems like a silly, childish thing looking back at it," Isane muttered under her breath, ashamed of herself.

"It is a healer's job to help those who are suffering, Isane. I told you that last night. Don't be ashamed of requiring help," Unohana insisted, taking a motherly tone as she finished with her hair and stood to dress herself

"Even so, this has to be the last time," Isane said, standing up from the bed as well. "I don't want to rely on anyone. I want to be able to handle this problem in a mature fashion."

"Isane, it's never healthy to force something," Unohana cautioned.

"I know, I still want to try," the silver-haired girl said softly, slightly unsure.

"Very well... I will always be here if you need me," the Captain said with a smile.

"Okay," Isane said smiling a little herself as she turned to leave. "Thank you, Captain," she said as she opened the door and walked out.

A/N: End chapter 1. Has to e the quickest story ever in terms of the pace the yuri feelings are developing. I was worried about that for a while, as it seemed like it wasn't going to take anywhere near five chapter to get these two to have sex with each other, but I think I have some ideas where I can slow this thing down a bit and make it last. So yeah, I think it was interesting. Isane's dream was kind of fun, writing all the shinigami getting brutally killed by Aizen, Tosen, Gin and their stupidly powerful monster was sickly amusing. Isane's more fun that I imagined her being. She's actually quite an interesting character when you look at her closely. Retsu remains one of my favorites to write. I'm getting fond memories of last time I worked with her. Anyway, tell me your thoughts and look forward to the continuation.


	2. The Darkness Found in Dreams

A/N: Wow, lots of reviews. Thanks a lot. Here's hoping you all continue to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and I am not to be blamed for the economic downturn.

The night was dark around her as Isane wiped the sweat from her brow. Her and her Captain had been called to the world of living to help heal a large brigade of shinigami who had been sent out to challenge a rouge arrancar, but had suffered heavy damages in the initial confrontation. Having attended to the last of them, her captain had given her permission to head back to her tent and get some rest.

She moved forward languidly; her body exhausted from the work. Even if she was weary, part of her still wished to stay up. Her Captain would remain awake, watching over the injured shinigami all night; Isane wished she had the endurance to stay at her side the whole time, but it had already proven too much for her.

Approaching her tent, Isane contemplated what sort of sleep it would hold for her. Would she sleep peacefully through the night, or would she be visited by nightmares once more? A yawn told her it wouldn't be long before she found out. She opened the flap to the tent and prepared to step inside. She didn't quite make it before a voice called to her.

"Lieutenant Kotetsu, wait!" the voice called. Isane turned to find an unfamiliar female shinigami standing before her, looking out of breath.

"Yes?" Isane prompted.

"Yes, Lieutenant Kotetsu. Let me explain. I was out surveying the perimeter of our camp as part of the watch unit, when suddenly we were attacked. One of the other two in our unit was critically wounded and is in desperate need of assistance," the frightened shinigami recounted in a hurried fashion.

Isane nodded forcefully, her energy returning immediately. She was needed. Her Captain couldn't be asked to abandon her place looking over her other patients. This one would be up to her.

"Lead the way," Isane commanded in a serious, attentive voice.

"Yes, Lieutenant!" the panicked girl readily called back; she hastily began to pace off in the direction of her injured comrade. Isane followed right behind her.

After a few moments of hurrying through the dark of night, the two shinigami finally reached their destination. There were two male shinigami waiting there in the densely wooded area, one watching over the other, wounded on the floor. Isane knelt down immediately to assess the man's wounds.

"How is he? Will he be alright?" the girl who had retrieved the healer questioned hopefully.

"I think so..." Isane said as she stared down at the wounds. They were very deep, blood still coming up and out of them. The man was far from conscious, but he was alive. "What did this to him? It wasn't the--"

"It was." The non-injured man answered the question before it had fully left the girl's lips. "We ran into that arrancar while on watch. It tore into him and left him like this. We knew we were no match for it, so we grabbed him and ran as far as we could with him like that. For whatever reason that thing didn't chase after us."

"I see. These wounds are serious, but they're well within my capability to heal. I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine to move in a while…" Isane started as she readied herself to apply her healing techniques.

Just as her hands were moving toward him, just as the healing spell began it's course through her head, it all suddenly became very unnecessary. A giant red blast shot from out of nowhere. Isane caught sight of it in time to raise her head and bend back to avoid it, but it was too late for the wounded man. The entire top half of his body was incinerated instantly.

"No! How did it find us… I-It didn't even chase after us… How did it find where we hid?" the female of the watch unit screamed in horror, trembling as she turned in the direction of the blast.

"You bastard! Come out here! I'll make you pay for what you've done!" the still living male shinigami shouted into the darkness beyond the trees. Slowly the arrancar stepped forward into Isane's sight.

The arrancar was intimidating. He had the very solid body of a tall, thin man, dressed in a white robe that concealed everything except his pale white hands. Over it all he wore a long, pitch black cowl that ended in a hood. The most disturbing part of the arrancar's appearance was in what Isane saw under his hood. It was hollow; there was nothing there but a floating, white eye mask, covering two glowing red lights that came through as eyes. Overall he had a rather ghostly appearance.

"Monster! You'll pay!" the over-excited male shinigami shouted as he pulled his zanpakuto. He charged the arrancar with it raised, a fire in his eyes. As he was leaping in to make his cut, the arrancar raised a hand. A massive cero blast came forth, leaving almost nothing behind.

"N-no… we're…. I-I… Its…." the timid shinigami girl fumbled as she ran toward Isane, hoping to escape death. "Please Lieutenant… save me…"

Isane, stunned, her brain hardly functioning in proper order through all that had happened, still heard the girl's plea. She snapped out of her daze and decided she'd make a stand. She pulled Itegumo from its sheath.

"Don't worry. No one else will die here. You'll be safe," Isane assured the girl, stepping forward.

The girl seemed contented by this. She smiled back at isane as she stood a little behind her. She began to speak, "O-okay. I trust you lieuten--"

She didn't get to finish. Isane wasn't sure if it was Sonido or something else entirely, but somehow the arrancar had appeared directly behind them, it's zanpakuto was pierced straight through the young girl's chest. Isane felt crushed.

"Stop! I'm a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, you're through, hollow!" Isane screamed as she slashed forward, releasing Itegumo's shikai in the process. The arrancar pulled his sword from the fallen shinigami and blocked the attack in a single motion, his strength immense to the point of launching Itegumo from Isane's hands.

"What do I do? Captain, what do I do…?" Isane shook with fear as she asked these questions to no one. She was all alone under the night sky. She slowly began to back away from the arrancar and toward her sword, the arrancar inching toward her deliberately as she did so. She couldn't let it all get to her. She had to be strong like her Captain. She had to do something.

"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!" Isane shouted as she grabbed Itegumo once more. "Bakudo number 9, Geki!"

Red light surrounded the Arrancar and soon he wasn't moving. Isane leapt forward at full speed and let Itegumo carve it's way through the hollow's chest. As the blood flew from the cut, Isane's faith in her self was momentarily restored. The sentiment was unfortunately brief though; before Isane had even completed her motion, the arrancar had broken her binding spell and grabbed her by the neck.

Isane stared into the headless monster's glowing red eyes, sure of her death. She wished she was stronger. She wished she had the strength to protect those she cared from. She wished she had the strength to at least save somebody, even if it was just herself.

As wish after wish flew through Isane's mind, she suddenly noticed something strange. The monster was fiercely holding her by the neck, but that was all he was doing. He wasn't moving at all; it was as if he was frozen. And it wasn't just him, Isane noticed. Everything was the same; even the wind had stopped. She freed herself with ease from the arrancar's grip and began to turn around.

Running would be a simple task now but she didn't want to run; not until she knew what this was about. If everything but her was frozen, she had to know why. She continued to look around hoping for some clue. Very soon she found more than just that. A bright glowing light drifted toward her.

Upon closer inspection, Isane noticed that the light took the shape of a tiny girl with wings. She wore a devious smile as she began to fly around Isane in circles.

"What are you? What's going on?" Isane demanded.

"I'm Violet Moonstar the guardian fairy of wishes, here to grant your wish!" the tiny girl chimed cheerfully.

"What?! R-really…? W-why?" Isane started, confused.

"Because it's fun," Violet replied in a carefree way.

"O-okay…" Isane said, unsure what to make of this all.

"Right. So here's the deal. I'll give you the power to make the scary monster go away in exchange for giving up on your greatest wish," the wish fairy proposed in a high voice, smirking wickedly.

"That doesn't sound fair exactly, but I guess I'm pretty much dead if I don't accept," Isane said, mulling it over.

"Yep!" the fairy chirped innocently.

"Well alright then, I don't even know what my greatest wish is in the first place," Isane sighed.

"No good. For our deal to go through you have to tell me what your greatest wish is," Violet said, shaking her head.

"What?! Can't you just read my heart or something and find it out?" Isane asked, feeling insecure.

"Of course. But I'm an evil dark fairy, so I'm gonna be a bitch about it. You have to say it out loud, to the world, yourself, and if you don't get it right in three tries something bad will happen," Violet Moonstar stated her terms as bluntly as possible.

"What will happen?" Isane asked, somewhat anxious.

"I'll eat you," the fairy replied forwardly.

"What?!" the Lieutenant started, stunned.

"So that's why you'd better get it right. Tell me your greatest wish!" the fairy commanded, flying up and down in front of the girl.

Isane contemplated it for a moment. Isane was a fairly simple, down to earth person. She didn't have many extraordinary wishes that she clung onto. She couldn't think of anything.

"I wish that Aizen is defeated; that things become peaceful in Seireitei once more," Isane said, shaking. It was the only thing that came to her.

"Nope! Completely wrong. You better be glad too; think about how selfish it would look if you gave up on that just to save yourself," Violet said in a critical voice, shaking her tiny head at the shinigami. "Try again!"

Isane began to deliberate once more. The fairy was right; she couldn't sacrifice anything universal like that. She had to have something selfish she wished for regularly. An idea found her.

"I wish that I could wake up one day and suddenly be four or five inches shorter…" Isane said, slightly embarrassed at saying it.

"Nope! Wrong again. You have one more shot, then I'm going to eat you," the fairy said, energy in her high, cute voice.

"Are you really going to eat me?" Isane asked, staring at the tiny creature and wondering how this was possible.

"Of course! Try extra hard this time!" Violet almost cheered, an evil smile on her miniature face.

Isane was nervous, even if she was unsure how serious the fairy's threats were. She wanted to give Violet her answer, but she couldn't. Shouldn't she know herself well enough to know what the thing she wished for most was? Why did this give her so much trouble? She had to find the answer. She had to. She couldn't give up. Her captain didn't give up.

"I wish I was someone strong, who could stand on her own, like my Captain," Isane said, nothing but confidence in her answer.

Violet Moonstar smiled at the words. She was silent for awhile, allowing the suspense to build. She then shouted loudly, "Wrong!"

"What, but I was positive…" Isane started to shake.

"Yeah, positively wrong," the fairy laughed.

"Tell me! What is it? I have to know!" Isane shouted desperately.

"You don't get to know. You were wrong three times so I'm going to eat you," Violet laughed maniacally for three minutes straight. She then glowed a neon purple for a minute and a half and transformed into a ten foot tall, gigantic fishcake with a mouth.

"NO!!! Don't eat me!!!" Isane shouted in absolute horror as she backed away. It was racing towards her at incredible speed, it's huge mouth wide open, ready to swallow her whole.

Isane ran as fast as she could in her panic. Then she tripped and fell over. She expected it to end shortly after, the monster fishcake sinking it's teeth straight through her, but no such sensation came. Instead all she received was a pleasant nudging at her back.

"Isane...Isane… You're breathing heavy… Are you okay?" the sweet gentle voice of Captain Unohana graced Isane's ears. She shot up immediately.

She had been dreaming. Looking around she found that there was no giant fishcake, no evil fairy, and no ghostlike arrancar frozen in time. Instead all she found was a shimmeringly radiant Retsu Unohana hovering over her, her hand placed gently on Isane's shoulder. They were inside a large tent; around them were many shinigami, lying bandaged on beds.

"C-captain? W-what--? Where…?" Isane didn't even know where to begin. Her dream had been so very real, especially that terrifying phantom of a hollow.

"Calm down Isane, you don't want to wake anyone," Unohana said warmly, moving her hand from the girl's shoulder to her cheek. Isane tried her best to settle down.

"I-I'm sorry…" Isane whispered, looking down, still confused.

"We were called out to assist the wounded here after their battle with that arrancar. You assisted me for hours, and became visibly tired. I permitted you to go back to your tent for some rest, but you insisted on continuing to help me. A few minutes later you were asleep soundly," Unohana explained in a simple voice, noticing the other's separation from reality.

"I-I see…" Isane started, shaking a bit. She remembered all of this save falling asleep. Her nightmare had just fused so fluidly into it all that her sense of reality was still jarred.

"If you wish to discuss this dream now, I'd gladly listen," Unohana offered kindly, her expression serene and beautiful.

Isane pondered what to say. She remembered that she didn't want to be reliant; she wanted to do things herself. Still, the imagery wasn't leaving her mind, and her Captain's smile was impossibly inviting. She decided to speak.

"I-I ran into the arrancar. It was fearsome; terrifying. It killed three shinigami before my eyes and then I fought it… and was overpowered…" Isane recounted in a meek way, the hooded, faceless creature still burnt into her mind's eyes. She decided to leave out the bits about the evil fairy and giant fishcake, as those sorts of things weren't meant to be shared, even with someone as understanding as Captain Unohana.

A hint of concern crept onto the Captain's face as she heard this. She was silent for awhile before speaking. "I see... Can you describe the arrancar you saw in your dream, Isane?"

Isane was shocked by the question. Here she was hoping her Captain could help her forget what she saw, but instead the woman was asking for descriptive details. Still, it wasn't like she was going to forget the details anytime soon.

"It was creepy. It wore a white robe, and a black hood and cape. It had no face, just a floating mask and glowing red eyes," Isane explained, shivering at the description.

"Isane, tell me, since we arrived, have you heard from the shinigami here any details about the appearance of the arrancar they fought?" Unohana asked, her tone still very serious.

"W-what? No, I haven't," Isane shook her head.

"Isn't it odd then, that your description just now matches that of their aggressor?" Unohana arrived on point. A chill ran down Isane's spine.

"Y-you can't be-- Why would I…? How could I see something like that?" Knowing that the monster from her dreams was real was a definite shock to the silver-haired girl.

"It seems to be a power this arrancar possesses. A few of shinigami here have told me that they saw the arrancar in their dreams the night before encountering it. Many more spoke of friends who had seen it in such a fashion, all of whom fell in battle," Unohana recounted gravely. Isane could feel her heart begin to race.

"So it penetrates our dreams and marks us for death? D-Doesn't that mean I'm next?" Isane grew faint.

"This ability it has likely works in creating fear in. Those who are easily frightened are ensnared by its trap and slip into panic when they come to encounter it outside their dreams. In their panic, these souls lose their ability to act at the best of their ability," Unohana hypothesized. She then assured, "so in other words, you are in no extra danger, Isane, so long as you don't let yourself become afraid."

Isane gulped. That was easier said than done. She supposed she'd just have to not go anywhere for awhile.

"Captain Unohana!" a breathless call came very suddenly from the distance. Unohana got to her feet at once. The sounds of someone running through the grass could be heard for a few seconds before the door to the tent opened. Who emerged shocked Isane to no end.

"Captain Unohana… our unit was attacked while on watch. One of us is critically wounded. He needs assistance now or he won't make it," panted the very same shinigami girl as from Isane's dream.

"I see," Unohana said understandingly. She turned to her lieutenant, "Isane, I trust you can handle this?"

Isane could feel her mind go numb at being asked this. She was horribly frightened. It was too similar to the nightmare. She didn't want to encounter that frightening arrancar in the woods. She wouldn't be able to keep her composure.

"No! I couldn't!" Isane said at once, closing her eyes and shaking her head, feeling ashamed.

"Isane. That's unlike you. When have you ever been one to refuse me?" Unohana said, strictly.

Isane then felt even worse. She was horrible, selfish. This man was dying but the fear caused by a dream was preventing her from lifting a finger. Even so, she couldn't compel herself to snap out of it. In a vulnerable quiver she started, "I-I'm sorry, Captain… I-I thought you understood…"

"This is about the dream you just had?" the older woman asked, her head tilted. Her behavior was strange to Isane; Captain Unohana had seen her shaken from her nightmares before; why would she surprised by it this time?

"Y-yeah…" Isane replied meekly, not looking at the other directly.

"Then you would prefer I accompany you, Isane?" the Captain proposed. Suddenly Isane understood her Captain's ploy.

"I know I said I wanted to get over this problem on my own, that I wouldn't go to you for help anymore… but this is… this is too much. I just can't… even if I want to," Isane said, feeling pathetic. Her captain was giving her the chance to be mature; to do things on her own like she had said she wanted and face her fears directly, and she was too afraid to take it.

"Then I will accompany and make sure you're safe, Isane," Unohana said with finality. She proceeded to give orders to the few assistants she had in regard to watching the patients while she was away, before turning back to Isane and the girl. "Are you sure this is what you want, Isane?"

Isane stood pale, frozen for a few seconds before she could even start thinking of a reply. She didn't want to rely on anyone. Her insecurities, her fear, she was supposed to overcome them on her own. She didn't know how to do that though. If she went into that forest alone, she would be petrified with anxiety. Her nightmares never had a light impact on her state of being, and knowing for a fact that the arrancar she had seen was actually lurking out there only made matters more impossible.

"Yes... Let's go, Captain," Isane said solemnly, still looking away in shame.

"Lead the way," Unohana softly said, nodding to the female shinigami standing at the door.

"Right!" she replied before turning, exiting the tent and sprinting off. The Captain and Lieutenant of the Fourth Division followed closely after her.

It was all the same. The night sky, the direction of the wind, the path they took through the forest, all of it was the exact same as what Isane had just seen in her nightmare. This was unsettling for Isane, but nothing more than that. With her Captain at her side, she felt secure despite it all; like even if her nightmare was real this time, it still wouldn't be able to reach her.

When they finally did reach the injured man, that scene proved to be the same as well. It was the same man lying injured on the floor; the same third watchman standing over him. If the arrancar was trying to recreate the nightmare it showed Isane, it was doing a very good job.

"Isane, tend to this man," Unohana commanded in her usual gentle fashion.

"At once, Captain," Isane replied readily. She bent down and examined him.

"How is he? Will he be alright?" the girl who had retrieved the healers questioned hopefully.

"I think so..." Isane said as she stared down at the wounds. They were deep, but not quite as deep as they were in the man was still unconscious, but he was alive. "The arrancar did this, right?"

"Yes." The non-injured man answered solemnly. "We ran into that arrancar while on watch. It tore into him and left him like this. We knew we were no match for it, so we grabbed him and ran as far as we could with him like that. For whatever reason that thing didn't chase after us."

"I see. These wounds are serious, but they're well within my capability to heal. I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine to move in a while…" Isane wondered why she was saying the exact same things she had in her dream. It was just what came naturally for her.

She remembered clearly what happened next. She would be ready this time. She wouldn't let anyone die. Instead of mentally going over a healing spell, she focused on a protective one, keeping the corner of her eye focused on the direction the arrancar's blast had hit from in her dream.

As it was, the blast soon came, but Isane's preparations proved useless. The giant red cero came catapulting forth from the exact opposite direction, catching the young healer completely off guard. She wasn't anywhere close to being on time to react to it. Luckily, it didn't matter.

"Don't let yourself get distracted, Isane. Focus on cleansing that poor man of his pain," Retsu Unohana softly advised. She stood right in the path of the blast, which had been completely deflected in a split second. Isane wasn't exactly sure how.

"R-right," Isane said, she prepared her healing technique and began to apply it to the wounded shinigami.

"It's here…. How did it find us… It didn't even chase after us… How did it find where we hid?" the female of the watch unit said, terrified, but far more composed then she had been at this point in the dream

"Come out here, you bastard! I'll make you pay for all my friends you've killed!" the healthy male shinigami shouted into the darkness beyond the trees. He sounded about the same as he did in the dream after witnessing the other man die; Isane supposed this man was just confrontational.

Slowly the arrancar stepped forward. He looked exactly as he had when he had infiltrated Isane's dream. All the details were the same, the same figure, the same robe and cowl, the same hollowness, floating mask and glowing red eyes. He seemed to stare straight at Isane as if she were his prey.

"Damned monster! You'll pay!" the over-excited male shinigami shouted as he pulled his zanpakuto, ready to charge to his death as in the dream. Captain Unohana outstretched her arm before the man's path.

"Calm yourself, sir. Running to your death will not appease the souls of any of the friends you've lost," she started in a wise voice, looking the man in the eye. "It is best to fight a defensive battle against an opponent who's strength you do not fully comprehend, especially when you have comrades to protect." The man listened to the captain's words; his posture became more relaxed and he sheathed his sword.

"I understand Captain. Seeing this beast attack us mad me lose my better judgement," he said, turning a cold stare to the arrancar.

"You're a captain. You can defeat this guy, right? H-he's not going to kill us?" the female member of the watch unit asked, hopefully, certainly far less panicked then she was at this point in the dream.

"You have no need to worry. No one here will die today," Unohana made a variation of the pledge that Isane had in her dream. Isane had no doubt that her Captain would do better at keeping it than she had.

The girl seemed contented by this. She smiled at Unohana as she stood a little behind her. She began to speak, "O-okay. I trust you Capt--"

The girl didn't get to finish. She didn't die as before, the words just got interrupted. The arrancar had found his way behind her just as it had, and his sword was ready, it just didn't connect with it's target. The male watchman had been alertly on guard, and caught his sudden movement, catching the arrancar's blade on his own the second he reappeared.

Isane figured it was hard to read the emotions of mute, faceless monsters, but in this case it was no real task for her. The arrancar was seething mad. She could just tell. He no longer paid Isane, his prey, any mind. He was staring with absolute hatred at the one who had disheveled his careful plan.

"Noble arrancar, if you place any value on your life, I ask that you return to Hueco Mundo immediately. You cannot defeat me," Unohana spoke; the tone of her voice far more intimidating than the arrancar's fiery stare.

The arrancar was apparently insulted by this, or at the very least further enraged. His eyes glowed brighter for a moment, before he charged forward with incredible speed, directly at the woman, his sword held firmly, ready to cleave her in two. Retsu Unohana disappeared with a flash step and appeared behind him, Minazuki drawn and held pointed, directly at his heart.

"I trust you understand now. My power is greater than yours. Withdraw, if you do not wish to die tonight," Unohana said coldly, almost callously. She withdrew her sword to allow the arrancar room to make his decision.

He looked down at his sword, than at Unohana, then at the other two shinigami standing close by, then at Isane kneeling over the injured man. He then looked once more at Unohana, hatefully. He gave a silent roar into the sky and then raised his sword, ready to strike again.

"Forgive me. But if that is your choice..." Unohana somberly said, closing her eyes as the faceless being's blade neared. The motion was untraceable. There was just a brief glimmer before a thick line of scarlet shot off into the air, and the arrancar fell to the ground, lifelessly. Unohana kept her eyes shut, a look of pain on her face as her hand left Minazuki's hilt.

"Hah! Can't believe it! Damn thing kills a number of us, injured a bunch more, and it's the healer we call in to help us that goes and takes it out for good," the male shinigami said, shaking his head though relief was evident on his face.

"That you so much, Captain Unohana. That was incredible," the female shinigami said with an excited jump.

"Ugh… it's gone then…" the injured man said in a strained voice, alerting everyone else of his consciousness. Isane had made great progress on his wounds despite her attention being divided over the course of the encounter.

"You think you're ready to be moved yet, sir?" Isane asked her patient, nodding as she looked at him.

"I think you cold try," the man replied. His two comrades got in position and lifted him over their shoulders.

"Let's go back, Isane," Captain Unohana said softly, taking a step forward. Isane stood and scurried to catch up with her.

Walking back to the camp, Isane found it odd, but she actually felt tired. She supposed it made sense though. Retsu Unohana had effectively slain her nightmare; what then was there to fear in her sleep? She hadn't wanted to rely on anyone, but she had, and as a result she wore a beaming smile across her face.

She began to consider the other half of the dream, the part that had come solely from her and not from the arrancar's influence. She briefly glanced at the radiant woman walking just in front of her. She was now confident she knew the answer Violet Moonstar had been looking for. But it wouldn't have done her any good knowing then; it wasn't a wish to be abandoned, not even in the face of death.

A/N: End chapter 2. Odd chapter. Not sure how it turned out. I tried to make it a kind of interesting little self contained event. It was something different I suppose. I had a great time writing it. I had it start with another dream sequence, though I had this one take a more whimsical twist instead of being purely horror. With the arrancar here, I wanted to give him a name and maybe a zanpakuto release or something, but I decided he'd be more terrifying as a creepy, silent character, and that he fight hasn't important enough for me to prolong. Isane is still fun to write, and Unohana is just awesome here. I really want to see her in an actual fight; you know she's gonna be just as badass as I portrayed her here. Tell me what you thought of it all. I think this story is shaping up nicely so far.


	3. Understanding the Truth

A/N: Heh, this story continues to do well. Thanks a lot to all those who reviewed. Let's hope it continues to entertain.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and I am not responsible in any way for the Swine Flu outbreak.

It was a simple, quiet day in Seireitei. Isane walked down the streets and caught nothing of event. Her eyes, perhaps, may have missed something, as it was though; she proceeded forth, distracted by her usual apprehensions. She was certain that everyone she passed was staring at her. It made her tense, and that made her mind wander.

She thought back to the mission she had recently returned from, the excursion into those woods with her Captain. She didn't know what to think about it. She had never experienced something like that. Nights previous, Isane's Captain had been able to restore sleep to the girl after experiencing true horror, but to actually dispatch the horror itself, it felt somehow unreal.

Isane still longed to be less awkward, more mature, more self reliant, yet the feeling that encompassed her in watching that graceful, radiant beauty rip effortlessly through the chains of absolute terror, made those sentiments hard to maintain. She hated it, but she wished to be able to depend on that woman.

Dependence wasn't an adult trait. Children depended on their mother. Adults weren't supposed to seek out some other, stronger figure and entrust themselves to it. Isane's desires were ridiculous, foolish and best forgotten. But for what ever reason, she couldn't just drop them.

"You sure seem troubled, Isane," a deep whisper said from nearby the girl.

"Yeah, it's difficult. I'm so confused…" Isane said mostly to herself, not even looking up.

"Perhaps you'd like to talk about it for a while," the strange, dark, yet kind voice replied.

"Wait… w-hat?! Who are--?" Isane turned around apprehensively, now fully aware of the presence beside her. What she found was unusual to say the least; there standing beside her was a very large, radiantly white horse with a 12 inch horn sticking out of its forehead.

"I'm Mr. Happyglow, the last unicorn," the horse introduced himself. Isane took a quick step back.

"Oh... I ... uh... see…" Isane started, confused and bewildered. "N-nice to meet you."

"It's my pleasure, Isane," the unicorn replied politely.

"H-how do you already know me?" Isane asked, doing her best to calm her nerve.

"Unicorns have the ability to look into the hearts of pure, virgin maidens," Mr. Happyglow said, an eloquent quality to his voice.

"P-please don't say that so loud!" Isane stammered, a blush on her face, looking around to see if anyone was staring. They were, of course.

"You have no need to worry, Isane. I can only be seen and heard by you and other pure, virgin maidens," the noble beast explained in a steady tone.

"W-why didn't you say that earlier. Now everyone is going to think I'm crazy and talking to myself…" Isane pouted in a barely audible voice.

"That's why it is best you should remain calm, Isane," Mr. Happyglow advised.

"A-alright," Isane said, finding a naturally quite voice. "So… um… about this... reading my heart…"

"Ah yes, your heart is like that of many pure, virgin maidens I've seen, filled with the chaos of youth," the unicorn said, staring at the girl.

"How do I get it all to go away?" Isane asked hopefully.

"The chaos in a maiden's heart doesn't simply vanish, Isane; instead it settles with time," Mr. Happyglow said, a wise ring to his voice.

"How do I get it to settle?" Isane rephrased her question but remained just as earnest as before.

"You move forward. You face the thing you fear," the shimmering beast said with a nod.

"Uh… well, there's really a lot of things I'm afraid of…" Isane meekly replied, looking down at the horse's feet.

"You know that of which I refer, Isane. You must fight uncertainty and come to terms with the truth in your heart. Only then can you make your final decision," the unicorn clarified.

"I don't get why this is so hard… I bet even you find an adult woman wanting what I want ridiculous…" Isane said, giving a sharp laugh in expense of herself.

"If I did, nigh all human and shinigami hearts would be objects of ridicule," Mr. Happyglow said with a bit of amusement in his tone.

"What do you mean?" Isane asked, helplessly.

"I cannot give you the answers, Isane, just help you on the path toward them," the gallant creature shook his head.

"No… please… I want to know…." Isane said back, somewhat frantically.

"I'm sorr--" Mr. Happyglow began. He was cut off by the loud sound of a small explosion nearby. Shortly thereafter, the unicorn toppled over to his side. A large hole had been blow into his flank.

"W-what… w-who…?" Isane looked around, socked and scared.

"I'm sorry, Isane… he found me… I can do nothing more to help you…" the radiant unicorn whispered softly before his flesh bean to fade into the air.

"Mr. Happyglow!!! No!" Isane shouted, bringing more attention to her general area than the explosion already had. She crouched down and tried to revive the beast with her healing technique. Her hands passed completely through it's now transparent form. She raised up and looked around, anger on her face. "Who did this?! Show yourself!"

"Ha haha mwahaha!!!" prolonged maniacal laughter sounded from nearby. A shadowy figure slowly emerged.

"You! Why would you do such a thing?!" Isane shouted, pulling Itegumo from its sheath.

"I have destroyed the last unicorn so as to ensure the coming of Dream Weaver Calamity 733 years from now!" Isane's answer came in the form of a loud, villainous nasal voice. Isane stared as its source came into clear sight.

It was a young man with thick glasses and overgrown sideburns, dressed in a flannel shir,t blue jeans and a ridiculously tall pointed hat. He held in his hand some sort of glowing rod.

"Who are you?" Isane challenged, glaring at the unicorn killer.

"I am Phil the Time Wizard! Mwahaha…" the man in the pointed hat cackled.

"Well then, Time Wizard, I'll make you pay for what you've done!" Isane said tersely, readying her sword.

"Will you now?" Phil the Time Wizard chuckled. He shot something sparkly from his glowing stick and it flew at Isane. "Even like that?"

"AHHH!!!" Isane screamed as she began to grow taller and taller, until her head reached further up then most of the Seireitei roofs. She was certain everyone would stare. She covered her face with her hands in shame.

""Ha! See, it is hopeless. You shall never stop my zombie minions from devouring this continuity!" the villain said with confidence. Soon the streets of Seireitei were overrun with ravenous, flesh-eating zombies.

"No… I gotta do something… I gotta stop the zombies…" Isane tried to get a hold of herself. It proved difficult.

"You won't be doing anything! That unicorn clearly entrusted you with the secrets of the universe before it died! I shall extract them!" Phil the Time Wizard declared, tilting his rod slightly. He began to fly up so he was level with the enlarged Isane.

"He didn't tell me anything… really…" Isane unsteadily shook her head.

"Lies!" the evil man shouted. "Even if you won't tell me, perhaps the evil monster you fear the most will be more successful."

Phil the Time Wizard shook his glowing rod again and soon a gigantic fishcake monster was standing in front of Isane, it's oversized, hungry mouth open and ready to swallow her whole. She ran, it running after her through the zombie infested streets.

"Heh, this looks kind of fun," a light wispy voice chimed in Isane's ear as she continued to run. She knew this voice. Unlike the last time she had heard it, her dream remained in motion. She kept running.

"You're that fairy, Violet Moonstar!" Isane shouted between long breaths.

"Yep, I sure am!" the tiny fairy said as it flew around Isane's head.

"What do you want this time?" Isane asked, still running for her life.

"Oh, you know, same as before. I make all this go away in exchange for your heart's greatest wish," Violet said with a cute laugh.

"I won't!" Isane said firmly, shaking her head in refusal.

She didn't know why she said this so readily. There was so much surrounding her that made her frightened and nervous. She wanted it to all go away. She wanted her heart to be calm. She knew her heart's greatest desire now. She didn't understand it. She was ashamed of it. She wanted it to go away as well. Even still she couldn't say it. She felt that if she let it all go, she'd be left with nothing but emptiness.

"You sure? You don't even want to guess this time?" the fairy seemed disappointed.

"I am. It's not something I can give up on!" Isane said after a moments hesitance.

"Suit yourself," Violet giggled. She moved around erratically for a bit then transformed into a second giant fishcake monster, right in front of Isane.

Isane came to a complete halt as the two fishcake monsters lunged at her in tandem, bringing her hard down to the floor below. As they went to work eating her enlarged body she was swarmed with zombies, who joined in. She could barely scream as she was smothered, and left in crippling pain, sharp teeth ripping into every inch of her flesh as she was brutally devoured.

"Mwahaha! The secrets of the unicorn die here and now!" Phil the Time Wizard laughed evilly before giving a shout. Soon Isane felt a searing pain at her side as she was surrounded in light. She thought of her Captain's face as what was left of her body exploded into tiny pieces.

Of course Isane found herself very whole, sitting up in bed shortly afterwards, all the physical pain having left her. She wasn't surprised; this dream had never been as real as the recent others, which was perhaps the reason she had managed to stay defiant in the end. She was confident, that when she did wake up the scary things would have vanished anyway. Taking Violet Moonstar's deal was thus unnecessary; all it would have spared her was some momentary pain.

Even if she had recognized this dream as one, it still left Isane wide awake, her adrenaline pumped to its maximum. It was still the dead of night too. Isane yawned as she sat up. She knew this routine. She wouldn't be able to find sleep again. Staying there in the bed would just mean apprehension, discomfort and a train of unpleasant, misguided thoughts. Slowly she stood up, prepared for a late night stroll.

As she left her room, Isane's thoughts stayed on the dream. Even if the scenario was ridiculous, the imagery was still with her. She could still see the monsters and zombies. She could still vaguely feel the pain they had inflicted upon her in her heart. She could still hear Phil the Time Wizard laughing at her.

She tried her best to push all that away from her thoughts and instead focus on the more pleasant portion of the dream, her chat with Mr. Happyglow, the Last Unicorn. The meaning of the beast's words still confused her. She wished she had had more time to talk with him. Maybe then she'd be closer to figuring out how to combat the chaos spinning in her heart. Isane continued to run it all over in her mind as she found her way around the Fourth Division's building, wandering aimlessly.

"Poor child, again you were faced with something horrible?" an all too familiar, kind voice sounded from behind Isane, sending shiver down her spine. She turned to find Retsu Unohana standing there, having just entered from one of the Fourth Division's doors.

"C-Captain? W-what are you doing awake?" Isane started, frantic and quiet at the same time; she didn't want to wake anyone.

"For the same reasons as you, I'm afraid," Unohana sighed as she took a few more steps toward the girl. She held her familiar, radiant glow, but seemed somehow more vulnerable than usual.

"You can't expect me to believe that someone like you would have her sleep disrupted by nightmares, Captain," Isane stated tentatively.

"Regardless of the person, there is no one free of fears and regrets. It is not uncommon for anyone to confront these fears and regrets in their dreams," Unohana said in a rather languid voice.

"Yeah… but… for something to get to you…" the lieutenant began, disbelief evident in her shaky voice.

"Isane, on our recent mission, do you remember that man we arrived just too late to save?" the beautiful Captain spoke somberly.

"O-of course," Isane said, her tone and expression becoming morose.

"The agonized look in that man's eyes as he stared at me and met death, it seems to have stirred in my memory all the similar scenes I've witnessed in my many years. A number of them were replayed for me just now," Unohana said, a clear sadness in her eyes. The apprehension brought on by her own dream seemed to dissolve entirely as Isane stared into those eyes.

"That's too… I'm sorry, Captain… If there's anything I can do to…" she said with a serious stare. For the first time, isane felt like she wanted to comfort her Captain, instead of finding comfort in her.

"Please, Isane, don't worry over me when you yourself are chronically plagued with these painful dreams," Unohana said, giving just a slight shake of her head.

"Oh… well, I'm used to them by now…" Isane said, looking down.

"Pain is not easy to bare, no matter how many times we face it. Especially when we face it alone," Unohana sighed again. She paused a minute before placing a warm hand at Isane's shoulder. In a serene voice, she added, "allow me to offer you any comfort I can."

These words made Isane feel ashamed and guilty. Her captain had just seen something devastatingly sad yet was more concerned with helping isane through the pain brought on by the ridiculous farce she had been through in her own dreams. She hated it.

"I'll be okay. This one really wasn't as bas as most," Isane assured, shaking her head.

"Do you wish to take a moment to discuss it?" Unohana posed the question, in a soft voice.

"N-no, I really can't…" isane said at once, blushing at the though of mentioning even a word of it to the other. She felt bad considering her Captain had been so open about her own painful dreams.

"I understand. I won't force you to tell me anything, Isane," Unohana said, nodding and closing her eyes.

"Okay…" Isane responded with a fragile smile.

"My bed is still open if you think it will help you sleep," Captain Unohana offered graciously.

"No that's…" Isane started, shaking her head. She then made the mistake of looking up. Her eyes connected with those of her Captain, still holding a lingering sadness, and she became speechless. She didn't understand why exactly, but she found she couldn't refuse. She settled on the idea that her Captain wouldn't want to be alone after seeing something so painful. For all the woman had done for her, Isane at least owed her the company of a night.

"Well… okay... I guess it might help…" Isane said, blushing a little.

"Then let's not waste any more time standing here," Captain Unohana replied with a smile, before beginning to walk in the direction of her room. Isane followed after her.

Form there things happened much as they had that first night Isane had slept in her Captain's bed. In a short amount of time both women were lying side by side, ready for sleep to take them. Isane didn't find sleep right away. Her thoughts continued to swirl, maybe even more than before.

She didn't understand why she was there in that bed again. She had sworn that first night would be the last. She didn't need this. Her dream had become a joke in her memory when she realized her Captain had seen something far more horrifying. She shouldn't have been there, staring at her beautiful captain gently resting.

She thought about the unicorn and he fairy. She had thought she understood her desires. She had thought that she had just desired to have her captain support her, take care of her, and act much in the role of a second mother for her. Isane's actions here didn't seem to be in line with that. She just wanted to be there. After seeing that sad look in the woman's eyes she realized she wanted to bring Retsu Unohana comfort just as much as she wanted the woman to comfort her.

It took several minutes more of restlessness before Isane let the pieces finally fall in place so as she could accept the obvious truth; she was in love. Knowing what her feelings for Captain Unohana were only made finding sleep next to the woman harder, unfortunately.

---

Isane wore an unsteady smile as she waited at the corner of a Seireitei street. She had eventually arrived on a good nights sleep; it was day now. Being a well deserved day off, she had left the Fourth Division to enjoy the day in Seireitei. At the moment, she was waiting to unite with her sister for lunch. Her wait ended promptly.

"Sister!" the loud call came from afar. Soon the sound of running reached Isane's ears, and very shortly after that, an out of breath Kiyone Kotetsu was standing in front of her.

"Hi Kiyone, glad you could meet me like this today," Isane greeted the other with a smile.

"Impressing Captain Ukitake is a nonstop struggle, but sparing an hour or so to eat lunch with my sister on her day off isn't too much to ask," Kiyone said, giving a firm nod.

"I'm glad," Isane said softly. "It's great to see you, Kiyone."

"Yeah, it's great seeing you too. We're both so busy, it's hard to find time to meet like this," the younger sister said with a light sigh.

"Captain Unohana does keep me pretty busy, I guess," Isane said, her voice becoming just a little higher as she spoke her Captain's name.

"I heard you just returned from a mission to the human world. How was that?" Kiyone asked in a conversational tone.

"Scary, but it was alright in the end thanks to Captain Unohana," Isane said, shivering as she unearthed the memories momentarily.

"That's no good! You gotta hold your own on missions, sister. Otherwise Captain Unohana's going to replace you," the more excitable sister, exclaimed.

"I-I'm sorry…. " Isane apologized. She added in a hopeful voice, "I don't think Captain Unohana would replace me..."

"Yeah… maybe not," Kiyone sighed and calmed down again. "Me, I gotta be at my best constantly. Can't ever leave anything up to the Captain."

"That's because you're so concerned with advancing to the lieutenant's seat over Mr. Kotsubaki, correct?" Isane gave a short laugh.

"Yep. There's no slacking off ever. Even now, I bet that bastard Sentaro is pulling some stupid trick to win the Captain's favor," Kiyone said with vigor, ending in a bit of a growl.

"I'm sorry…."

"Don't apologize. I already said I was glad we could meet today," the spirited girl shook her head and smiled.

"Okay." Isane began to smile as well. After a short pause she asked, "So, Kiyone, realistically, how do you think you compare to Mr Kotsubaki?"

Kiyone gave another little growl. In a sort of angry voice she said, "He may look, sound, and act like an idiot, but that Sentaro has some real talent. We're pretty closely matched I'd say." Kiyone broke into a wide grin as she added," It's a good thing I still have a distinct advantage over that loser."

"Oh, and what's that?" Isane asked, tilting her head to the side.

"My feminine charms," Kiyone said, a confidence to her voice.

Isane couldn't hold back a strong laugh as she stared at her rather tomboyish younger sister and considered her words.

"What's so funny! I'm serious!" Kiyone said loudly, glaring at her sister. In a darker, quieter voice, she added, "Hmph. I'd like to see you try to seduce a man…"

"W-what… no I couldn't do something like…" Isane started, a blush clear on her face.

"I know I'm no lieutenant Matsumoto or anything, but I'm still a woman. All I gotta do is get Captain Ukitake to fall in love with me and that seat is as good as mine," Kiyone said, giving several nods. These words, for whatever reason, sent Isane's thoughts down an all too familiar path.

"Love…" she said aloud in a soft whisper.

"Oh? Do I hear some nostalgia in your voice? Don't tell me sister's finally fallen for someone?!" Kiyone gave a slight snicker as she took a step closer to the other.

"I-I didn't… I'm not… I-I never…" Isane fumbled to refute the perceptive claim.

Kiyone snickered some more as she looked at her sister with a wide grin. "You can't hide it any more, Sister, and I want to know. Tell me who it is you got your eye on!"

"I can't…" isane said with blush and averted eyes. She couldn't tell Kiyone the truth; she could hardly accept it herself.

"It's not that pretty boy in your squad, is it?" Kiyone asked with a somewhat protective glare.

"Harunobu? N-no… it's not," Isane said shaking her head.

"I'd hope it's not that weirdo third seat you guys have…" Kiyone's stare was more questioning this time.

"No, it's not Yasochika either…" Isane said at once.

"And I'd trust you'd know better than to be taken by some scrawny loser…"

"It's not Hanataro," Isane said quietly, looking down.

"Maybe someone else from your rank? A lieutenant? Hisagi maybe?" the younger girl started searchingly.

"No, that's not it either," Isane replied, giving a soft sigh.

"Kira or Abarai then?" Kiyone continued to throw out names with a smirk.

"N-no… it's not a lieutenant…" Isane said, wanting desperately for the embarrassing conversation to be dropped.

"Oho, don't tell me my sister's after a Captain!" Kiyone smirked.

"No, I-I... It's nothing… let's just go get lunch now, Kiyone…" Isane's fear kicked in as she tried her best to derail the conversation. She was blushing profusely.

"I seem to have hit the mark! We're not going anywhere till you tell me which of them has you all excited!" the more energetic sibling stubbornly asserted.

"I really can't…" Isane said meekly.

"Captain Hitsugaya, maybe? He's kinda cool." Kiyone asked smilingly.

"It's not…"

"Wouldn't think Kyoraku'd be your type, but I guess he's kinda charming…" the younger girl said with some thought.

"It isn't him…"

"Kuchiki seems kinda difficult to approach, but I can see where he may draw your attention," Kiyone said deliberately.

"No. You're wrong…" Isane continued to shake her head.

"With how often he goes and gets injured, I suppose Fourth squad might get to see a side of Zaraki most miss…" Kiyone's confidence had mostly vanished by this point.

"No. That's not it either…" Isane said shutting her eyes.

"Sister… you wouldn't… There's a reason you can't tell me who it is, isn't there?!" An anger started to appear in Kiyone's eyes.

"Kiyone… I would never do something like that to you… it's definitely not your Captain," Isane said very earnestly. Kiyone seemed at once placated.

"So then, my sister's either lying to me or into something weird," Kiyone said in a subtle voice, thinking it over.

Isane said nothing, she just wore an intense blush.

"I see... It should have been obvious from the beginning," the younger girl started, a soft smile on her face. "You sure it's love?"

"I-I think so. It's the only thing that explains how I feel…" Isane replied sheepishly.

"Serving someone closely… it can lead to a sense of loyalty… devotion… admiration. None of that is necessarily love though. You should really try to sort these feelings out, especially in a case like this," Kiyone said, surprisingly serous.

"I realized just a while ago that I couldn't explain all of what I feel for her away as just those natural things," Isane shyly admitted.

"Be careful sis. Someone so removed from human faults is bound to be unapproachable in the first place. And the fact that she's a woman only means that this is even less likely to end well for you," Kiyone said apologetically.

"She's not perfect. She still has things she worries over… things she fears and regrets..." Isane inserted at once.

"Really? Never would have thought so. If she's actually showing you the vulnerability that no one's ever seen before, perhaps you have a better shot than I think..." Kiyone smiled encouragingly.

"What do you think I should do, Kiyone?" Isane asked in an unsteady voice.

"If you're really serious about this, It'd probably be better you at least confronted her on it. Even if she's not interested in you, I don't see her as the type to let it change her impression of you in any way. And even if it doesn't work out, at least that way it'll all be out there, and not keeping you awake at night," Kiyone suggested, continuing to smile.

"It still seems so hard," Isane sighed.

"Take your time, Sis. No need to rush something like this…"

"Yeah."

"Now, I think we've wasted enough time just chatting. Let's go get that lunch," Kiyone reminded, offering a very short laugh.

"Okay." Isane gave a firm nod. The two began to walk.

"But seriously, to think my own sister's into women... I never would have guessed…" Kiyone said teasingly after a few steps. Isane blushed.

"S-shut up…" Isane said giving the other a firm glare; Kiyone broke out in laughter

A/N: End chapter three. Certainly a lighter chapter than the last. The nightmare sequence here was noticeably more whimsical than the first two. So much so that Violet Moonstar didn't stand out a being anything even remotely unusual in the scene. the rest of the chapter was more standard stuff; just Kiyone trying to understand her feelings for Unohana and what she should do about them. I enjoyed writing the chat with Kiyone. Like her sister, she's a deceptively fun character too it seems. Overall, this chapter may not be as powerful as the last, but it was fun.


	4. The Pain Caused by a Conflicted Heart

A/N: Even if I'm less excited for it now, this one's still going strong. Gotta keep it up. I hope you all enjoy. The beginning contains some sexual material, if you require a warning about that.

Disclaimer I do not own Bleach and I do not have the answers.

Isane's eyes opened widely to be greeted by darkness. She felt the soft bed below her. Had she been sleeping? Dreaming? She turned her head and was alarmed at what she found. Her Captain was sleeping beside her. The shock caused her to jump a little and this jump stirred the other from her sleep.

"Isane?" the woman's soft voice started as she sat up. "Is everything okay?"

Isane stared at the radiant beauty dressed in nothing but a light robe, her shimmering black hair flowing down her back. She was a spellbinding goddess of beauty in Isane's eyes.

"Isane?" that goddess repeated with concern, placing one of her smooth, silky hands at Isane's shoulders. Isane almost jumped again.

"Why am I….? What am I…?" Isane forced herself to stop staring and try to say something coherent. It proved unsuccessful.

"You had another bad dream tonight, Isane, so you came to join me," the beautiful captain informed her lieutenant, her hand still brushing the girl's shoulder.

"Oh, I see…" Isane replied tentatively; she couldn't remember it.

"It's not like you to awaken a second time in one night, Isane." the pristine beauty said with a benevolent smile as her arm wrapped around Isane's back, taking her into an embrace. Isane shivered at the development. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I-I… I…" Isane stumbled on her words as she tried not to look at the woman holding her.

"Does me holding you like this make you uncomfortable, Isane?" the older woman phrased, titling her head.

"Yeah… kinda…" Isane replied nervously, a blush on her face. Surprisingly, her Captain did not let go.

"What about this, Isane?" the captain asked as her hand traveled deliberately to pet Isane's stomach, slipping under her robe.

Isane gave a short moan. She could feel her heart beating fast as her head became clouded. "It feels nice…" was all she could say.

"Well, then how about this?" Isane gasped hard as her Captain's hand traveled upward under her robe, finding her chest. It cupped one of her shapely breasts and began to caress it gently. Isane could feel her nipples harden almost immediately at the touch.

"Captain! What are you doi--?!" Isane started in a panic, once she realized how peculiar this was.

"Relax, Isane," the beautiful woman said with a smile. Isane listened. "Tell me, do you like it?"

Isane gave a feeble nod. Her captain smiled.

"Do you want more?" she asked simply.

Isane nodded again. Despite this, her Captain's hand stopped it's endeavor. She looked up at the woman confused, only to have the woman's hand find her head and keep it in place. The radiant goddess bent forward just slightly, allowing their lips to join for a soft kiss. Isane felt like she was melting.

As the kiss broke, the older woman had her lieutenant lie down flat on the bed. She began to kiss at her neck while a hand once more found the opening at the front of her robe. She pulled the garment open, exposing Isane's body to the cool night air. Her hand then resumed the work of before.

Isane gave a long moan at her Captain's touch. Her Captain bent forward and kissed her again, this time it was longer and more passionate, their tongues finding each other in their collective mouth. it eventually broke and the beautiful woman trailed downward across her lieutenant's body, placing long kisses atop it all but particularly at her breasts. Isane could feel an incredible wetness pouring out of her with each subtle movement her Captain made.

"How do you feel, Isane?" the woman asked, in the exact same even tone she used when asking patients the same question.

"A-Amazing…" Isane admitted with a blush. She was too excited to lie. She added a request in a helpless voice, "Please touch me more…"

"As you wish," the kind goddess replied as her hand traveled tenderly downward across Isane's exposed flesh, until it found its way between her legs. It slipped under the undergarments and soon granted the girl a blissful feeling unlike anything she had imagined previously.

Isane about screamed with pleasure as her Captain's agile fingers traced their way across her flooding slit again and again. She began to writhe and pant under the intensity of the touch. It was more than she could bear. It was more incredible than any other feeling.

"My, Isane, this sure has you excited. So much is coming out of you…" the pure goddess teased. Hearing such dirtiness from the woman's lips brought Isane within inches of a climax.

"Captain… it's so-… so…" Isane failed to say anything as her Captain continued to deliver onto her the most incredible pleasure. She wanted to finally express her feelings at least somehow, "I-I lov---"

The beautiful Captain cut her lieutenant off with a sudden kiss, thrusting her warm tongue deep inside Isane's mouth. Isane received it happily, wrapping her own tongue around it. The kiss couldn't last long though, as the goddess' able fingers at their job prompted a fierce moan that disheveled it suddenly.

"You're so beautiful, my Isane…" the radiant woman said, filling the other with an incredible warmth and satisfaction. Isane moaned at the sound of her voice. Her Captain straddled further down across her body, placing bountiful kisses at her chest before continuing even further downward.

When next Isane was able to look, her Captain was situated directly between her legs, her hands at the hem of Isane's panties, pulling them down and off slowly. Isane watched with anticipation as her Captain bent forward. She began to visibly shake as she felt her Captain's breath against her most sensitive area. The feeling of the woman's warm, moist tongue as it stretched from her mouth to find its way inside her was nothing short of euphoric.

Isane moaned and squirmed at every little movement she felt. It was all so incredible, overwhelming. It left the girl feeling delirious. She had already been close to her climax, but she was now approaching it with even greater speed. It would just be seconds now.

"You certainly seem to be enjoying yourself," a voice commented. Isane barely heard it.

"Yes…" she moaned in response, whether it was to the voice or her Captain she wasn't sure. She was lost in the moment, blinded by the incredible feeling. It took a full minute for her to realize that the sound of a voice meant that someone was watching her.

"W-what?! Who's there?!" Isane started, jumping backward on the bed, forcing herself away from the bliss her Captain was showing her.

She looked around frantically for the source of the voice. Eventually it stepped forward. There, standing before her, was Phil the Time Wizard.

"You! What are you doing here?! Get out?!" Isane screamed as she forced her robe closed and backed up further on her bed.

"Why should I? Why should I do anything? What is the meaning of the universe?" the Time Wizard questioned in a hurried voice punctuated by mad laughter.

"I don't know!" Isane shouted, still embarrassed, and not really sure how to answer the questions in the first place, particularly the last.

"Of course you don't. You are not the true mind carver..." the strange man said in a mysterious voice as he pulled out and stared at a very old looking pocket watch.

"Look, I don't care about any of this stuff!" Isane shouted, shaking her head. "Just leave me alone… so me and my Captain… can…" her words trailed off.

"Your Captain? Who are you talking about, girl?" Phil the Time Wizard asked with an evil grin.

"My Captain of course," Isane said, turning to the beautiful, smiling woman still situated between her legs and pointing.

"HA! That is not your Captain, foolish girl!" the Time Wizard declared boldly.

"What are you talking about, of course it is?!" argued the other with a scowl.

"Why don't you look again…" the man suggested, his villainous smile widening. Isane did just that. She turned her head to look at her Captain once more. To her absolute horror, Phil the Time Wizard was right.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed as she backed away in fright. There positioned between her legs was not her Captain, but rather a fishcake monster shaped just like the woman.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!" Phil the Time Wizard laughed. "My fishcake doll will rape your soul!"

Isane watched as several tentacle like appendages emerged from under the robe of the Captain shaped fishcake creature. They grew closer and closer until she could feel them, firm and cold, upon her.

"N-no…" muttered Isane as the disgusting tentacles crept up her arms. "No!" she shouted as they found their way under her close. "NO!!!" she closed her eyes and screamed as they began to violate her.

Soon Isane realized she was no longer being raped. Confused, she opened her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief, it was all just another nightmare.

This nightmare did leave her in a sort of different state than most. She was still horrified; few of her nightmares had endings so terrible, but she was also something else: excited. The majority of the dream hadn't been a nightmare, but rather a perverse fantasy. Her heart had been racing before the dream had turned. Sweat was not the only fluid that had poured from her body to saturate that beds sheets.

As she remembered the dream she wondered how she should feel about it. She had accepted that she was in love with Captain Unohana. She hadn't yet realized she yearned to do such things with her though. She supposed it was pretty strange. She couldn't see her real Captain ever doing something so dirty.

Honestly, Isane felt a little ashamed of her dream. She felt it was lewd and disgusting. She didn't deserve any comfort tonight. Being in Retsu Unohana's company would be sure to reignite her perverted mind anyway. No, she'd just lie in her bed tonight, not even risk taking a stroll and being seen by the woman.

"Are you alright, Isane? I heard you shout just now," the soft voice of Isane's goddess reached her ears sending her into both a shock and a panic. Why was the woman standing there in front of her bed?

It took Isane a few moments to realize an important fact she had overlooked. She wasn't lying in her own bed. She was sleeping in one of many patient beds in the Fourth Division's treatment facility. It took her a few more moments, but she remembered why. She had been assigned a late shift in caring for the patients, during which she had become exhausted. Toward the very end of her shift, she had sat down atop a vacant bed for a quick break. She must have fallen asleep then. She could only assume it was her captain who had stripped her down to her light inner robes and placed her inside the bed's shets.

"C-Captain…?" Isane squirmed and shook, unsure of what to say.

"It was another one of your horrible dreams, wasn't it?" the kind Captain perceived as she sat next to Isane on the bed. Isane surged with shame and guilt as she prayed any strange scents would not be discovered.

"Y-yeah…" Isane admitted. There really was no other excuse.

"I think the others can handle things here for tonight. Do you want to take a walk and talk for while, Isane?" Unohana said in a warm voice, looking around the room.

Isane didn't know how to respond at first. She obviously didn't want to talk about it, but she wanted nothing more than to distance herself from those tainted bed sheets.

"Uh.. okay… I-I guess…" she said, taking a gulp. She hurried in standing up from the bed. Unohana got up after her. They walked out of the room and into a long corridor.

"This one seems to have left you quite nervous, Isane," the older woman took notice. "I suppose it was something horribly frightful…"

"Yeah… it was…" Isane admitted, cringing at the very thought.

"Do you wish to discuss it?" her Captain asked smilingly.

"No. I can't," Isane refused at once, shaking her head vehemently. She blushed at the thought of saying even one word.

"Then I won't force you to say anything, Isane," the woman replied in a soft voice.

"O-okay…" Isane gave a short nod.

"Will you come to bed with me, then at least?" Unohana asked, giving the other a long stare.

"I can't," isane again said at once, her blush intensifying at the thought of joining her Captain after such a dream.

"Isane," the other woman spoke with concern, "I understand you want to try to overcome this matter on your own. The signs of fever your face, the unsteadiness in your step, the look of discomfort and agitation, it all makes me want not to leave you by yourself tonight."

"I'm sorry, b-but I just can't do this anymore…" Isane said, tears entering her eyes for some reason. She wanted to let the woman comfort her, but she couldn't bear the thought of allowing such a thing when she was having such perverse thoughts in regard to the other.

"Isane. What's wrong?! Please tell me!" Unohana said, her voice rising with her concern.

"I c-can't… I just can't…" Isane replied, looking down, shivering with emotion. To her surprise, Captain Unohana took a step forward and embraced her in her arms. She calmed down before she was filled with shame once more.

"All right then… I won't force you… even if I would like to know why the though of sleeping in my bed would trigger such strong emotions…" the Captain said in a sad voice as she held the other to her breast, hoping to placate her. Isane felt even worse; she was rejecting the selfless kindness of the woman she loved.

"I'm really sorry… I just… Captain… I-I'm not… I-I'm … I-I… I-I…" Isane trembled and cried into the other's warmth. Oh how she just wanted to stay like that with her Captain. She couldn't however. She had to be reasonable. Her Captain didn't want what she did.

"You don't have to say anything, Isane… It's all right," the beautiful woman spoke in a downcast voice. "I do worry about leaving you in this condition."

"I-I'll be okay," Isane assured shakily as she put every bit of strength she had into freeing herself from her Captain's embrace.

"I hope so, Isane. I really do," Unohana said in almost a whisper. The two began to walk in opposite directions. "Good night, Isane," the kind Captain issued a parting word.

"Good night, Captain…" Isane replied feebly, still feeling horribly ashamed of herself.

The silver-haired lieutenant proceeded to her room promptly. She lied down in her bed, praying sleep would reach her. It didn't. The whole night she never found any rest. The peace of sleep was far too much to ask for one with such a conflicted heart. That whole night, hour after hour, she would just lie there, tossing and turning, thinking and crying.

She remembered how Kiyone had advised her to simply confront her Captain on the matter. But it was foolish to think that could possibly work now. Isane now knew what her desires were and they scared her. They made the thought of confessing anything to the woman ridiculous. She couldn't say anything. She just wanted to hide.

She hated it all. She hated her shameful desires. She hated how they made her push away the one she loved. She hated her nightmares and how they robbed her of sleep. She hated how the only solace she had from them might be out of her reach forever now. She just wanted it all to go away so things could return to how they once were. She knew it was too late for that.

---

Isane got out of bed the next morning with the start of the new day, no better rested than when she had first got there. Work would help her get her mind off of things. And after a full day of work, sleep would surely find her. Maybe that night would be nightmare free.

After pulling on her clothes and making herself look presentable, Isane left her room. She found her way to an open area where several seated officers of the fourth Division were gathered. Passing them by, she could overhear a little of their talk.

"I've never seen her like that, though. Usually nothing gets to her," third seat Yasochika Iemura's loud voice stuck out prominently through the crowd. Isane stopped immediately at the words.

"Hey lieutenant, how are you today?" eighth seat Harunobu Ogido said, spotting her and immediately turning on the charm. Isane gave a polite laugh.

"I'm fine..." Isane lied. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Something's up with the Captain. She seems kind of down today," Yasochika said in a deliberate fashion.

Isane's heart sank. Had pushing her away like that really hurt her Captain so badly? She knew that Retsu Unohana's kindly nature made it hard for her to not help someone clearly in need, but to think it would affect her so strongly. There was nothing Isane could have done. If she truly wanted her Captain to reenact the first half of that dream with her then this was the only option. Retsu Unohana was an impossibly kind goddess but she didn't want what Isane wanted.

"Poor sleep again, lieutenant?" Ogido asked, smiling and staring Isane in the eyes. She hadn't been able to do anything about the redness around them.

"Yeah… I guess so…" Isane replied, trying to laugh it off.

"You didn't see what happened with the Captain then, did you?" Iemura asked, the degree of his curiosity becoming evident.

"N-no… I didn't…" Isane lied again, doing her best to conceal her nerve.

"I bet it's something serious. Something only the Captains have been told so far," the third seat said with a steady nod. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see something big break out pretty soon."

"Y-yeah… maybe…" Isane started, staring straight at the ground below.

Harunobu took another step toward her. "You sure you're okay, lieutenant? You seem kind of out of it or something…"

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Isane said shaking her head, prepared to depart the scene and see if there was some patient for her to treat or something.

"W-we're your friends, lieutenant... If something's wrong, you can tell us…" the twitchy voice of seventh seat Hanataro Yamada stopped the lieutenant in her tracks.

"I'm sorry Hanataro… but I don't think I can this time…" Isane said, shaking her head.

"Oho, so it's private then?!" Yasochika snickered. "Don't tell me our lieutenant here has a secret lover…"

"I do not!" Isane stammered and scowled at the bespectacled man.

"Then perhaps instead she wants one…" Harunobu said in a vaguely teasing tone.

"I don't…" Isane said with far less conviction and a blush on her face. The ladies man seemed to adeptly notice the reaction almost immediately.

"You're seriously in love, aren't you, lieutenant?" he said, offering a confident laugh.

"P-perhaps…" Isane said. If she was vague about it, there was no harm in revealing just a little she decided.

"Oh? It isn't one of us, is it?" Ogido said with all the usual charisma.

"No. It's not," Isane replied straightforwardly.

"Then who could it be I wonder…" Iemura began to think it through.

"Stop. I'm not going to tell you. It's not something I really want to talk about," Isane said in a stern, level tone, hopefully reminding them she was their superior.

"Fine, fine," Yasochika said. Harunobu just sighed. Isane walked away from the group, hoping to get a look at the schedule for the day. She didn't realize at first that she was followed.

"Y-yes, Hanataro?" she started when she finally did realize it.

"I-I know you probably didn't want to say it in front of everybody there… b-but… if something's really troubling you, l-lieutenant… I-I was thinking… that maybe… you know… I-I could just…" the timid boy replied, horribly nervous.

Isane smiled. She liked Hanataro. He was a good person. During Aizen's rebellion he had had the courage to do what was right rather than just blindly follow orders. Isane respected him for that. If there was anyone in Fourth Division she felt confident in confiding in, in regard to this matter, it was him.

"I-I guess I could tell you something… maybe you could help me…" Isane said in a quiet voice, looking at her feet.

"Y-yeah…" Hanataro nodded.

"Like… they all guessed… there's someone I love very much…b-but they don't feel the same way. To them I'm just a friend… and that's all I think I'll ever be to them…" Isane confessed, just as nervous as the other.

"I doubt that's true… You're great, lieutenant… I'm sure if you just tell him, he'll accept you…" Hanataro argued, shaking his head.

"No! I know it won't work like that. I don't want to say why, but I just know that the one I love will never accept me… but leaving things as they are is causing us both pain…" Isane said with frantic emotion behind her voice.

"Y-you can't just say that for sure…" Hanataro began in earnest. "Especially if you're both in pain… you just have to try…"

"No, Hanataro… you don't understand the situation…" Isane said with a short sigh.

Hanataro was silent a moment. When he did speak, something told Isane it was truthfully, "I-I think I do understand it now… and my advice remains the same…"

"it's always the same… you, my sister, that unicorn… I wish you all realized how hard something like this was to admit… and how much pain it could cause…" Isane said, holding back tears. Hanataro raised an eyebrow momentarily at the word "unicorn".

"When things look impossible… I've always found that it's best to try and stand strong and hold onto the hope that things will turn out alright…" the seventh seat said with just a tinge of unsteadiness and then a smile.

"Perhaps so… thank you, Hanataro…" Isane replied, looking down.

Isane doubted this would work. Retsu Unohana couldn't be interested in the sort of relationship Isane wanted. it was impossibility. She was going to be crushed in simply bringing it up. Even if Kiyone had assured her otherwise, Isane wasn't sure her Captain wouldn't distance herself from her if she did confess. She could easily lose everything she had.

Still, Isane had to try something. Leaving things as they are was far too painful.

A/N: End chapter 4. Interesting chapter I hope. Our main progression here of course si that Isane's dreams help her realize she's not only romantically interested in her Captain but also sexually interested, and of course this destroys any and all the confidence she was able to muster in the last chapter thanks to Kiyone. Overall I guess it wasn't much progression, but considering I had these two sleeping together In the first chapter, the fact that I'm stretching this one out a bit should be no surprise. Luckily, the next chapter is the end, which will give me the opportunity to let things finally come together.

Now then, time for some blatant advertising. I recently started a complex, largely original fanfic based around the anime Code Geass called, Code Geass: Age of the Chaotic Truth. If you're a fan of the series, have completed it and don't fear spoilers, I'd be happy if you were to read it, as, while I'm still writing these Bleach stories, it's my focus at the moment.

Additionally, as a little announcement in regards to the said fic, I have made the decision to try and release it on a weekly basis for the duration of the summer. This does not mean the schedule for the Bleach fics will change; those will still be release bi weekly.

Finally, be sure to check my profile. I have put up the poll deciding my next Bleach paring. Please vote.


	5. Darkness, Dispelled

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Some personal things happened at the beginning of last week that made me extremely busy. Even now I am not back on my normal schedule exactly. I really hate going off schedule almost immediately after I announced that I would be doing weekly chapters of my Geass story, but it's not something I could control. Due to this stuff, I unfortunately was not be able to release a chapter of that Code Geass story this weekend (as I had to write this chapter). I don't want to go off my promised schedule quickly, so I'm going to try and release two chapters this week, but it may prove too much for me to handle. Anyway, enough about that. This is the final chapter. There will be sexual content. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and I am not the winner.

Isane couldn't just let things stay as they were. She understood her feelings. She loved her Captain and she would never be satisfied with herself or anything else until she confronted that very woman on those feelings and received a definitive answer. She didn't expect her Captain to accept her, but she told herself she was fine with that. So long as she got an answer, she would be allowed some peace of mind.

She held all her strength, all her confidence in her heart as she walked down the long hall only to stop at her Captain's room. She took a deep breath and then knocked twice. After a few seconds, she heard the voice of the one she loved through the door.

"Yes?"

"C-Captain… can I talk to you for a second…?" Isane started anxiously, feeling weak in her stomach.

"Of course, Isane," the woman replied. "Please, come in."

Isane opened the door and walked in. As it was night, her Captain was dressed in her sleepwear with her hair down, sitting on her bed. She looked like a beautiful goddess, her appearance absolutely spellbinding to the silver-haired lieutenant.

"C-captain…" Isane started with averted eyes and a bit of a blush, the other's radiant appearance distracting the amazing drive she had amassed.

"Please sit," the beautiful woman said with an inviting smile, motioning to the spot next to her on her bed. Isane tentatively complied.

"C-captain…" Isane repeated, still finding it difficult to both look at the woman and say what needed to be said.

"Yes, Isane? What is it you wanted to speak with me about?" the kind Captain asked, still smiling warmly.

"Captain, there's something I really need to get off my chest…" Isane decided to just approach the topic directly.

"I'll gladly listen to anything you have to say, Isane," the older woman assured in a soft voice.

"Captain… the truth is…" Isane gulped, not sure she was ready. This was all so hard, all so scary for here. Despite that, she knew she would hate herself if she didn't say it now. In a fragile whisper she eventually managed her confession. "The truth is, I love you, Captain."

The beautiful goddess' smile fell as she looked at Isane for a moment before saying anything. She continued to stare as she then asked, "What do you mean by that, Isane?"

"You know…" Isane said, shaking. "I love you, Captain…" She paused before saying even softer "I'm in love with you…"

"I see…" the Captain said, still not smiling. "And what is it hope for with those feelings?"

"I just… I just wanted to know what you think about me…." Isane said, terrified.

"You have been a faithful, irreplaceable assistant to me for years, Isane," the woman replied with a series of nods.

"Yeah but… is that all…" Isane started hopefully.

"I'm sorry, Isane…" the beautiful woman said, closing her eyes. She held a somber quality in her voice. "I know it must disappoint you, but I am unable to see you in any other way…"

Isane's heart fell. She looked down and spoke quickly, "T-that's okay. I just had to tell you anyway. These feelings have been troubling me for so long..."

"I see…" The beautiful Captain shot her second with a penetrating stare.

"I'm sorry, Captain…" Isane said, standing up, wanting to leave that uncomfortable situation immediately.

"Isane, wait," Isane's goddess called out to her. She stopped in her tracks.

"Y-yes, Captain?" Isane started, her head turned hopefully.

"I believe it may be for the best that I reassign you to another division on a temporary basis," the woman said in a deliberate fashion. Isane's hopes crashed once more.

"How long, would it be for?" Isane asked, feeling cold.

"A year, perhaps," the Captain replied in a sad voice.

"B-but Captain--?" Isane started in shock.

"I know it will be hard, Isane, but in order for you to learn to accept things, I think it may be best if you were to have some distance from me for a while," the Captain said in a sorrowful sigh.

Isane thought to protest further, but she couldn't find any words. Instead she merely said, "I understand, Captain." She then walked back toward the door and exited without another word exchanged.

Returning to her room, climbing into her bed, Isane felt broken, hopeless. She began to cry. She had told herself that she would be okay if her Captain refused her. She was wrong. She was not okay. She felt horrible, sick, empty. She felt as if her very life had been drained of everything that made it worth living. Even through all the nightmares she had ever seen in her many years, it was the scariest thing she had ever felt.

She continued to cry as she tossed and turned all the while praying sleep would reach her. She hoped that some horrible nightmare would take her away and shake her so hard she could seldom remember the pain she was in. She wanted some escape she wanted some way out of this. She wanted Retsu Unohana to love her.

"Isane…" a voice spoke to her just as sleep was finding her. Isane opened her eyes. She found herself staring at the beautiful, but worn by concern face of the woman she loved, who was leaning attentively over her bed.

Isane tried to sit up but the woman stopped her. She started, "Captain, what's going on? What are you doing here?"

"I was concerned for you, Isane," Unohana said softly, placing a hand at Isane's head.

"Why?! Didn't you just tell me we shouldn't see each other for a while?" Isane said, shaking her head in confusion.

Unohana stared at the girl with a smile, "I never said anything of the sort, Isane. Please relax, it's not good for your health to become so tense."

Isane's mind felt blurred. She didn't know what was happening; it felt like all was spinning. "Just a moment ago… I told you how I felt and you said I should be momentarily placed with another division for a year."

"Isane, please. I know not what you talk about. This event never happened," Unohana assured, continuing to smile in a quiet, consoling way.

"I get it…" Isane said after searching through the fog of her brain. "This must be a dream…" Isane tried sitting up again but was stopped.

"You're mistaken, Isane. This is real. This talk you say we had; that is the dream," Unohana softly whispered.

"But that can't be. I remember waking up this morning, I remember the whole day. I never fell asleep, even for a moment," Isane said, alert. She wanted to believe it, but it made no sense to her and her hope had been too far crushed.

"You wouldn't remember it, Isane," Unohana said in a very gentle voice. "While attending to your duties today you fainted from fever and exhaustion. I've been watching over you since then."

Isane looked up at the woman, kind and beautiful. She detected none of the coldness that had forced her away. Perhaps it really was just a horrible, terrible dream. She began to cry some more, entirely beyond her control.

"C-Captain Unohana…." Isane whimpered, a mess and unsure why.

"Isane. It's over now. You needn't worry. I could tell you were suffering; your sleep became restless and you began to moan and cry. But it's over now. I'm here for you," the Captain assured in a lush, warm tone.

"Thank you…. Captain…" isane replied meekly, blushing as she stared up at the radiant beauty.

"Isane… I know there's something troubling you tremendously..." Unohana spoke, closing her eyes. "Something you must tell me..."

Isane grew anxious. She couldn't handle it if things turned out as they did in her dream. "I'm not sure…. I can t-tell…"

"Isane, no matter what, I will not think less of you and I will not seek distance from you," Unohana said with a nod as she reached for the girl's hand. It felt very warm.

"I-I love you, Captain…." Isane managed feebly, reassured by Unohana's touch. With more confidence she repeated. "I really love you."

"Thank you, Isane. Your feelings are beautiful," the older woman said smiling fondly. Despite this, Isane frowned.

"But you can't return them, can you…?" she choked. "You're a Captain, someone who has the respect of everyone… You couldn't be with me… your subordinate... a woman…"

"Don't place words in my mouth, Isane. I never said or thought anything of that sort," the woman said smiling and shaking her head.

"It's okay, Captain. You don't have to try so hard not to hurt me… being rejected… it's not as bad now as it was in the dream…." Isane said looking down.

"I could never reject feelings so pure from one so precious to me," Unohana said, gently stroking the girl's cheek.

"I can't expect you to feel the same as me. There's no way your love for me is the same thing…" Isane still held her downcast expression.

"That's just not true, Isane," the Captain sighed softly. "I'll admit my love for you has never been a strictly romantic one, but if that is the nature of your feelings I am positive I can find the same within myself."

Isane shook. She didn't believe it. She couldn't believe it. She had set herself up for failure, for heartbreak. Now her Captain was saying she was sure she'd be able to return Isane's feelings. She should have felt joy at this, but all she had was doubt.

"I'm not sure I can… I don't… I-I--" she tried to voice that horrible feeling but a gradually approaching Retsu Unohana made saying anything hard. She cut herself off completely when the woman was inches from her face, her gentle eyes locked with Isane's terrified ones. With one small motion, Retsu Unohana dispelled Isane's doubt.

It wasn't a long kiss, nor was it deep or particularly passionate. It was just quick, soft and gentle. Still, it was more than appeasing. Isane felt as if her world had stopped as she felt her Captain's soft lips upon her, unable to shut her eyes as they stared into the equally open eyes of the other. Then after a few moments, the kiss broke off as Unohana pulled back.

"C-captain…" Isane muttered, blushing intensely, a wanting left about her lips.

"Please call me Retsu in private now, Isane," the Captain instructed in a pleasant tone. Isane's eyes widened with disbelief.

"I-I could never--" she stammered, shaking her head.

"Please now, it wouldn't be right to address your love in any other way," the beautiful woman said to Isane's ear.

"R-Retsu…" Isane started, not believing she was actually saying it. Retsu smiled as stared down at the girl.

"That's better, Isane," Retsu said with a smile. Isane found herself crying some more, clearly from joy.

"It just doesn't seem real to me…" she whimpered. Despite the words she knew it was real; she never had good dreams, just nightmares.

"I'll stay with you in your bed tonight," Retsu said, finally sitting down on the bed next to Isane and beginning to reduce herself to her usual state fro sleep. "I know how those dreams keep you awake."

Isane could feel the woman crawl into her bed next to her, her worth right up against her. It just seemed so strange, so beautiful. "Shouldn't you be more surprised… I don't understand why you're doing this…?"

"I've known about your feelings longer than you have, Isane. They don't surprise me. I was just waiting to hear them from your lips," Retsu said softly as she began to caress the other's cheek yet again.

"This is just so incredible…" Isane said with teary eyes, as she felt the woman's warmth beside her.

A silence fell between the two for a few moments. Isane's heart never stopped pounding through that time. The one she loved was so close to her. It was just incredible. She felt like the moment could last forever and she would be content with it. Of course, then Retsu spoke.

"Isane, could you tell me about it now?" she said.

Isane turned her head to face the woman; she stared puzzled for a second. "About what?"

"The dream you had last night, the one you couldn't discuss and refused to sleep with me after," the woman clarified in a light voice. "Now that we have opened up with each other, could you tell me about it?"

Isane blushed. Why did Retsu suddenly want to know about that of all things? Even if the woman was saying she could love Isane, Isane couldn't expect the woman to just accept her disgusting, perverted fantasies. "I'm not sure I can…"

"You'd keep secrets from the one you love, then?" Retsu said; Isane couldn't believe it, it was almost like the dignified Captain was taunting her.

"It's just… embarrassing…." Isane said, averting her eyes.

"I doubt I would find it so," Retsu shook her head. "What you see in your dreams, what you fear, what you desire, it's just part of who you are. And you are someone I truly love and accept."

"But I feel ashamed…" Isane still protested, looking away.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Isane…" Retsu assured. "Sexuality is a perfectly natural component of a person's psyche."

Isane's face went white with disbelief. "You know?!"

"I apologize. Knowing your feelings, it was rather easy to read your body language…" Retsu said, with a slight blush as if she was now ashamed.

"T-then why did you ask about that? Why did you ask if you already knew?" Isane stammered, her face going red again.

Retsu gave a short laugh. She said while smiling widely, "I thought that perhaps you'd like to do some of the things we did in that dream."

"You can't… you can't be s-serious…" Isane gulped, her heart beat accelerating.

"I want you to be more open with me, Isane. I think this is a good way," Retsu said reaching out and placing her hand at the girl's cheek again. "Besides, knowing how we feel about one another, won't it be difficult for you to find sleep at my side were we to just leave things as they are?"

Her Captain was right. Of course she was. Retsu was always right. Isane wouldn't be able to just go to sleep, not now, not when Retsu had accepted her, kissed her, and climbed into her bed. She wanted to do more with Retsu. No, she needed to do more if she hoped to find peace in herself.

"Yeah… but just doing things like that with you…" Isane still couldn't approach her desires, even if she realized them now.

"Then just relax, and allow me to take the lead for now," Retsu said, propping herself up on the bed and smiling at the girl.

Isane gasped. She blushed. She wanted this. Still, she had to make sure of something before things progressed. "Ummm… okay…. but before that…"

"Yes, Isane?" Retsu asked gently.

"This is probably going to sound really stupid…" Isane said looking away.

"What is it?" Retsu said, tilting her head.

Isane closed her eyes as she phrased the all important question. "You're not a fishcake monster, are you?"

Retsu failed to entirely contain her laugh. Isane felt horribly embarrassed. When Retsu spoke, she felt a little better. "You needn't worry, Isane. I am me. This is no dream."

"I'm glad," Isane said, looking at the other finally and smiling.

"You're so beautiful, Isane…" Retsu whispered as she caressed Isane's hair and gave a soft giggle.

"I love you, Retsu," Isane repeated, wanting.

"I know," Retsu replied smilingly, crawling over the other, her long hair falling all around the silver-haired girl, and initiating a second kiss. Isane's arms wrapped around the other, keeping their lips together much longer this time. Then Isane let her lips part, and extended her tongue hopefully. Retsu met it with her own, which she soon let find its way into the other's mouth. It was so warm. Isane held the other to her tightly, not wanting it to end.

Eventually Retsu did break the kiss. Her eyes locked with Isane's for a long while before she began to line kisses along Isane's neck. The silver-haired girl let out a long moan as Retsu moved momentarily to place kisses at her ear before returning to the curve of her neck. Meanwhile, Retsu's hands found their way to the front of Isane's robe. Isane's hands found and undid her own sash, allowing easier access.

Retsu pulled off her and saw the garment opened, revealing Isane's naked form to the cold night air. It was kind of embarrassing feeling the heavy stares, but it was also somehow incredible knowing it was the woman she loved who was staring.

"Beautiful…" Retsu cooed as she bent forward and embraced the girl around her waist, resting her head at the side of Isane's chest. A hand soon trailed deliberately up to cup one of Isane's breasts gently. Isane felt her nipples harden instantly under Retsu's touch. She wanted to feel more; her hand found it's way into Retsu's silky black hair.

Retsu took note of this and raised her head just slightly. She turned it just enough so as she could place kisses at the center of Isane's breast. Isane moaned softly as the kiss became a soft, tongue-filled suck at her nipple. All the while, Retsu continued to softly caress the other breast. Every motion felt warming, fulfilling.

Eventually, Retsu lifted herself from Isane's shapely bust and reconnected their mouths in another kiss. As their tongues dance slowly with one another, Retsu's hand trailed down across Isane's stomach deliberately, then across her hip and leg. It then found it's way inside Isane's thighs; it soon found the center of the woman's panties and began to rub it slowly but fully. Isane broke the kiss to moan in bliss.

"So cute, Isane…" Retsu giggled before stealing another kiss. She straddled back downward to begin kissing at Isane's breast again, this time the other, as she let her hand find its way inside the small piece of cloth that was her lover's panties. Isane quickly, eagerly tugged them down and removed them. Retsu gave another soft laugh.

Soon Isane could feel her beloved's fingertips hot about her inflamed, watering sex. She felt like crying with pleasure. Retsu's fingers soon penetrated her, filling her up and leading to a high moan. The gentle sustained suck at her breast only heightened the incredible pleasure she felt. Each little pulse Retsu's wrist made Isane feel so intensely satisfied.

Then Retsu broke the rhythm she had achieved. She stopped her gentle suck at the girl's breast and trailed downward, placing kisses all along the girl's stomach. Isane held her breath as she realized what Retsu wanted to do next. She spread her legs fully and blushed as the woman removed her hand.

Retsu crawled quickly into place between the girl's thighs. She bent forward. Isane arched backward, her head falling back as she felt Retsu's tongue trace across her desk. It as unreal that someone like Retsu Unohana was doing something so dirty with her, but the feeling was so intense and overwhelming that Isane was left little time to consider this. She just didn't want it to stop.

Isane's moans became sharp and frequent as her Captain's broad tongue-strokes aroused in her an incredible warmth and satisfaction. With each lick, Isane could feel herself get closer to absolute ecstasy. Her heart was beating faster, her breaths were becoming shorter, her body's jerking motions were becoming harder to control.

Then Retsu made things even more hectic. She brought her fingers back up to the lips of Isane's sex and reinserted several of them. Isane gasped hard. Retsu thrust softly, again and again, placing the occasional lick at the girl's engorged clitoris, causing the most incredible surge of intense pleasure the girl could imagine. After just a few minutes of deep thrusts and hot licks Isane was pushed past her limits of pleasure; she gave one final cry as an unbelievable warmth dispersed to every corner of her body.

"Did you enjoy that, Isane?" Retsu asked in a gentle voice. Isane struggled to reopen her eyes. When she did, she noticed Retsu's face was glistening with her dirty juices. Rather then embarrassing, like it rightly should have been, this was instead incredibly arousing, especially when the woman began to lick at her lips.

"I never would have imagined, you'd be so good…" Isane cooed between strained breaths.

"I've been around awhile, Isane. I'm experienced in most areas," Retsu said with a teasing smirk, pulling herself up next to her lover. They shared a brief kiss.

"I've never heard about you having ever been with anyone…" Isane said, savoring her flavor off the other's lips.

"It's been a very long time, Isane. For many, many years now, I've been squarely devoted to my job. That doesn't mean I've never seen love," the Captain replied.

"But after going for so long… I'm a worthy partner…?" Isane started quietly.

"I couldn't find a better one, Isane. You are very special to me." Retsu initiated another long kiss.

Their tongues swirled against one another lovingly for many minutes. When it broke, Isane asked, "Can I… you know… please you now… Retsu?"

"I would like that very much, Isane," Retsu replied with a smile as she undid the sash tying her robe together. She opened and removed it, revealing her glorious figure to Isane's adoring eyes.

Retsu really was a radiant goddess. Her smooth, immaculate white skin, and beautifully curved figure combined with her long, lustrous black hair and piercing, incredible eyes made her appear as an unreal beauty to the young girl. Just staring made Isane want to touch her lover; she just wasn't sure she was worthy.

"S-so… So beautiful…." Isane cooed as she stared. Retsu gave a soft laugh, obviously flattered.

"Thank you, Isane," Retsu said, laying back on the bed. Isane quickly crawled up on top of her. They began to kiss heatedly, Isane's incredible excitement showing in her tongue's passion and speed.

Breaking from her lover's mouth, Isane moved quickly down to Retsu's bust. She flicked her tongue against either already erect nipple as a hand played with either of the woman's sizable breasts. Soon she was kissing and sucking at either breast randomly, excitedly going back and forth between the two at an incredible place. Retsu occasionally moaned cutely.

Eventually Isane settled on one breasts and began to suck at it passionately while her hand coarsely kneaded the other. Retsu cooed with the sensations, prompting the girl to intensify her endeavor. Soon Isane had pulled just away from the nipple and was lining much of the whole of either plump breast with tongue and kisses. Eventually, when most of Retsu's chest held a thin film of Isane's saliva Isane removed herself from the soft flesh and replaced her tongue in Retsu's mouth. The older woman rewarded her young lover with a very passionate deep kiss.

"You're very good at this, Isane," Retsu said, a little winded, as the kiss broke.

"I've never… before…" Isane started, even shorter of breath. "I'm just excited…"

Retsu giggled softly. "Well, you're doing really well," she said with a smile. "I don't remember the last time someone's had me this aroused."

"I'm happy…." Isane smiled. She was pleasing the one she loved. There was something so very satisfying about this simple sentiment.

She kissed her lover's lips once more and then started a quick trail downward. She placed more kisses at Retsu's lovely breasts before moving further down. She found the hem of the simple panties Retsu wore and pulled them down the woman's long, beautiful legs, tossing them aside.

Isane eagerly found her way between the woman's legs, which were split clearly for her. She stared longly at the beautiful pink slit presented to her. It's radiant sheen was so very alluring that Isane lost hold of herself quickly and bent forward, extending her tongue.

Retsu's taste, her smell, the feel of the warm, moist flesh as Isane's tongue traced through it, it was all so overwhelming. Isane lost herself in it. Her tongue flickered like mad trying to lap up all of her lover's delicious juices, but with each lick Retsu just released more until the entire area, both her thighs, Isane's entire face, was completely drenched. Still Isane didn't stop. She couldn't.

Retsu was moaning. It was different from her gentle moans of earlier, these were loud, short and intense. Sexual sounds, Isane would never have guessed a woman such as Retsu could make. They were beautiful sounds. Isane wanted to hear more of them. She continued to place lick after lick at the heated organ, letting her tongue travel deep inside every so often before darting quick across the woman's excited clit.

Soon the Captain had entirely lost her usual composure, she was moaning even more sharply, her legs were kicking, and her breaths were heavy. Isane could tell her lover was close and she wanted nothing more than to send the woman into a blissful release. When Retsu's hands shot to the back of her head and Isane let loose a few more well placed licks, she received her wish, as Retsu let out one final cry of pleasure while Isane's tongue was granted one final splash of sexual fluid.

Isane raised herself immediately and joined her lips to Retsu's in a kiss, no stopping to wipe clean her moisture coated face or lips. Retsu didn't seem to mind in the slightest as she let the kiss persist for a long while.

"That was lovely, Isane," Retsu cooed, letting her hand intertwine with the other's.

"Yeah…" Isane sighed, still trying to catch her breath from her rigorous tongue exercises.

"You told me the other day, Isane, that you didn't want to rely on anyone. Now, however, it seems like I will come to rely on you for some things," Retsu said with a light smirk.

"I was afraid of being childish when I said that, when in reality it was a childish thing to say," Isane said in a reflective voice; her own foolishness clear to her now. "There is no sentiment more beautiful than two people who love one another coming to support each other always."

"From now on, Isane, I will keep you safe from those nightmares, always," Retsu assured warmly, lovingly.

"And I'll be there for you, when you need me as well, Retsu," Isane replied with a beautiful smile holding her lover's hand tightly.

"Thank you, isane. You don't know what that means to me," Retsu whispered before placing a soft kiss at her lover's cheek.

Isane was left feeling nothing but happiness as her and her lover held each other warmly in that bed. Sleep would arrive shortly, and with it no foul dreams. In fact, Retsu kept her promise; Isane never was visited by nightmares again.

A/N:End story. Adorable little ending. This was a subtle chapter i think (aside from the sex maybe). Isane's final nightmare contained none of the bombast of its predecessor and was just sad. After that there was a rather subdued confession scene, the sex and then a brief cute dialog. All in all this was a fun fic. I love these characters; I want to see more of the min the manga. I look forward to using them again in the future.

But as for the more recent future, we have the little poll I ran. 87 people somehow voted. That's crazy. Last place:15 votes for the VIzard pairing, I'd rather like to use these characters eventually but whatever I suppose it's not a very good pairing. Second to last: Yoruichi X Nemu with 19; I was hoping this did better; I have good ideas for it. Third to last: Soi Fon X Momo with 20 votes; could have been interesting, but whatever. Fourth from the bottom: Soi Fon X Kiyone with 21; don't get to use Isane's sister in a leading role yet, that's okay though. Middle option: Chizuru X orihime with 22; kinda glad here. Fourth place: Yoruichi X Rukia with 23; I really would have liked a chance to work with yoruichi again. Tied for second: Nel X Cirucci with 29; that it did so well confounds me. Tied for second: Karin X Yuzu with 29; again, why are the odd pairings doing so well. Top spot: Soi Fon X Nemu with a staggering 42 votes: how exactly?

Seriously, I'm confused. Soi Fon X Nemu doesn't make any real sense. It's more one of those weird pairings I pulled from nowhere. Yet here it is winning by some crazy margin in this poll with a crazy vote total. I seriously question the legitimacy of this result. Others (meaning just Rabukurafuto) have discussed with me the subject of whether or not it is a legitimate result in my forum (yes I have a forum now; you're welcome to use it if you wish). I've tentatively decided to accept the poll results this time, and next time just try and use a blind poll again, but I'm not entirely sold on that choice. If enough people can convince me that I shouldn't be writing the Soi Fon X Nemu story, then I wont (and will write something else).

I know I usually always have a poll, but I don't have any good ideas right now (or any bad ideas for that matter) so I'll just wait until I think of something.


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